FQXi projects



Minigrant spring 2009. ``Exchanging ideas on spacetime"


Budget: $2500
 
Proposal: The funds will be used to attend some conferences in the field of general relativity and foundational physics. Among them

1) Mathematical Relativity in Lisbon - June 18-19 2009 http://www.math.ist.utl.pt/~jnatar/Mira/
Attended: https://www.math.tecnico.ulisboa.pt/~jnatar/Mira/participants.html
2) Non-relativistic Symmetries: mathematical theory and physical applications LMPT Tours, 23-24 Juin 2008 Organizers: M. Henkel and P. A. Horvathy
Attended. Talk slides: A connection between Lorentzian distance and mechanical least action
Paper: Causality of spacetimes admitting a parallel null vector and weak KAM theory  e-print Archive:  1211.2685 
3) FQXi conference in Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel in the Azores. July 7-12, 2009 http://www.fqxi.org/azores2009/index.php
Attended. Talk slides: Time and causality in general relativity
4) \"Spanish Relativity Meeting 2009 - Encuentros Relativistas Españoles 2009, Gravitation in the Large, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain, 7-11 September 2009 http://www.ehu.es/ere2009
Attended. Talk slides: From causality to time and back
Contribution to proceedings: E. Minguzzi. From causality to time and back. J. of Phys.: Conf. Ser., 229 (2010) 012052.
5) Mathematical Aspects of General Relativity Oberwolfach, Germany, October 11-19 October 009 Organizer: Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach http://www.mfo.de/programme/schedule/2009/
Not Attended.

My plan is to give a seminar in each one. I would like to discuss with several researchers on the topics of causality and time which have mostly interested me in the last years.
In this field I have produced some publications such as

Chronological spacetimes without lightlike lines are stably causal Commun. Math. Phys., 288 (2009) 801-819. arXiv:0806.0153.
K-causality coincides with stable causality  Commun. Math. Phys., 290 (2009) 239-248. arXiv:0809.1214.

but I had few occasions to discuss them with other researchers. I also would like to discuss the relationship between relativistic and non-relativistic physics with the scientists that will attend conference (3).
 
Product:  I will produce contrubutions to the Proceedings of the mentioned conferences (whenever it applies). I will also publish on my personal site the pdf presentation of my seminars. Products are linked above in red.
 
Statement: I have some funds from INDAM (http://www.altamatematica.it/) but these are insufficient to cover the expenses for all the conferences. With the contribution from FQXi I will be able to attend all of them. My plan is to give seminars on my research on time and causality or on closely related subjects.
 

Minigrant spring 2010. ``Joining causality with casuality"


Budget: $2500
 
Proposal:  The funds will be used to attend some conferences in the field of general relativity and foundation of physics.
Among them

1)  85e rencontre entre physiciens théoriciens et mathématiciens : Aspects géométriques et probabilistes de la théorie de la relativité, IRMA, 10-12 juin 2010 http://irma.math.unistra.fr/article874.html
Attended: http://irma.math.unistra.fr/IMG/pdf_Participants.pdf
2) Spanish Relativity  meeting, Granada (Spain) September 6-10, 2010.
Attended. Talk slides: Causality and entropic arguments pointing to a null Big Bag hypersurface
Contribution to proceedings:  E. Minguzzi. Causality and entropic arguments pointing to a null Big Bang hypersurface. J. of Phys.: Conf. Ser., 314 (2011) 012098.
Paper1: E. Minguzzi. Augustine of Hippo's philosophy of time meets general relativity. Kronoscope, 14 (2014) 71-89. arXiv:0909.3876.
Paper2: E. Minguzzi. The boundary of the chronology violating set. Class. Quantum Grav., 33 (2016) 225004. arXiv:1603.08190.
3) DICE2010 Castello Pasquini, Castiglioncello  Italy) September 13-17, 2010.
Attended. Talk slides:  A new synchronization method and its role in the problem of time
Contribution to proceedings: E. Minguzzi. The Poincaré-Einstein synchronization: historical aspects and new developments. J. of Phys.: Conf. Ser., 306 (2011) 012059
4) Time And Matter, Budva, Montenegro, October 4-8, 2010  http:/ tam.ung.si/
Not Attended.

or to finance visits in Florence by other researchers.  My plan is to give a seminar in most of the mentioned conferences.  I would like to  discuss with several researchers on the topics of causality which  have mostly interested me in the last years.  In this field I have produced some publications such as

Times functions as  utility, Commun. Math. Phys. In  press.
Chronological spacetimes without lightlike lines are stably causal, Commun. Math. Phys., 288 (2009) 801-819.
K-causality coincides with stable causality, Commun. Math. Phys., 290 (2009) 239-248.

In particular I  would like to discuss the possible role of the Brownian motion o  the velocity space with the scientists that will attend conference (1).  The application of stochastic calculus to spacetime physics is a very interesting to as it joins the causal aspects of spacetime, describing the deterministic influence of event, with the casuality of a stochastic motion.

Product:  I will produce contrubutions to the Proceedings of the mentioned conferences (whenever it applies). I will also publish on my personal site the pdf presentation of my seminars. Products are linked above in red.
  
Statement:  I have some funds from INDAM (http://www.altamatemat ca.it/) but these are insufficient to cover the expenses for all the conferences or visits.
With the contribution from FQXi I will be able to attend all of the conferences. My plan is to give seminars on my research on causality or on closely related subjects.