Space Time Defects as a Source of Curvature and Torsion

TL;DR

This paper models space-time as an elastic medium with defects, showing that such defects can produce curvature and torsion, leading to cosmological implications like universe expansion.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analogy between space-time and elastic media, describing defects via Volterra processes to explain curvature and torsion effects.

Findings

Point defects induce metrics resembling expanding or contracting universes.

Defects generate internal stress states analogous to gravitational effects.

The model links defects to non-zero energy-momentum densities in space-time.

Abstract

Space time is described as a continuum four-dimensional medium similar to ordinary elastic continua. Exploiting the analogy internal stress states are considered. The internal ''stress'' is originated by the presence of defects. The defects are described according to the typical Volterra process. The case of a point defect in an otherwise isotropic four-dimensional medium is discussed showing that the resulting metric tensor corresponds to an expanding (or contracting) universe filled up with a non-zero energy-momentum density.