We present a twistor description for null two-surfaces (null strings) in four-dimensional Minkowski space–time. The Lagrangian density for a variational principle is taken as a surface-forming null bivector. The proposed formulation is reparametrization invariant and free of any algebraic and differential constraints. The spinor formalism of Cartan–Penrose allows us to derive a nonlinear evolution equation for the world-sheet coordinate An example of null two-surface given by the two-dimensional self-intersection (caustic) of a null hypersurface is studied.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
L. P. Hughston and W. T. Shaw, in Twistors in Mathematics and Physics, edited by T. N. Bailey and R. J. Baston, London Mathematical Society Lecture Note Series Vol. 156 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1990), pp. 218–245.
3.
I. A.
Bandos
and A. A.
Zheltukhin
, Theor. Math. Phys.
88
, 925
(1992
).4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
S.
Frittelli
, E. T.
Newman
, and G.
Silva-Ortigoza
, J. Math. Phys.
40
, 383
(1999
).9.
L.
Brink
, S.
Deser
, B.
Zumino
, P.
Di Vecchia
, and P.
Howe
, Phys. Lett. B
64
, 435
(1976
).10.
11.
12.
V. A.
Soroka
, D. P.
Sorokin
, V. I.
Tkach
, and D. V.
Volkov
, Int. J. Mod. Phys. A
7
, 5977
(1992
).13.
R. Penrose and W. Rindler, Spinors and Space-Time (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1984), Vols. 1–2.
14.
15.
A.
Ashtekar
, C.
Beetle
, O.
Dreyer
, S.
Fairhurst
, B.
Krishnan
, J.
Lewandowski
, and J.
Wiśniewski
, Phys. Rev. Lett.
85
, 3564
(2000
).16.
17.
18.
K. L. Duggal and A. Bejancu, Lightlike Submanifolds of semi-Riemannian Manifolds and Applications (Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1996).
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
K. Ilienko, in Physical Applications and Mathematical Aspects of Geometry, Groups and Algebras, edited by H.-D. Doebner et al. (World Scientific, Singapore, 1997), Vol. 2, pp. 689–692.
24.
K.
Ilienko
and A. A.
Zheltukhin
, Class. Quantum Grav.
16
, 383
(1999
).25.
K. Ilyenko, D. Phil. Thesis, University of Oxford, 1999.
26.
27.
J. A. Schouten, Ricci-Calculus (Springer, Berlin, 1954).
28.
29.
E.
Noether
, Nachr. Ges. Wiss. Goettingen, Math.-Phys. Kl. 235 (1918).30.
B. M.
Barbashov
and V. V.
Nesterenko
, Fortschr. Phys.
31
, 535
(1983
).31.
32.
E. J. Flaherty, in General Relativity and Gravitation, edited by A. Held (Plenum, New York, 1980), pp. 207–239.
33.
34.
A. K. H.
Bengtsson
, I.
Bengtsson
, M.
Cederwall
, and N.
Linden
, Phys. Rev. D
36
, 1766
(1987
).
This content is only available via PDF.
© 2002 American Institute of Physics.
2002
American Institute of Physics
You do not currently have access to this content.