Kinks and topology change

1992
3 pages
Published in:
  • Phys.Rev.Lett. 69 (1992) 1719-1721

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Abstract: (APS)
We show that if a change of spatial topology is mediated by a spacetime with an everywhere-non-singular metric of Lorentzian signature which admits a spinor structure, then the Kervaire semicharacteristic of the boundary plus the kink number of the Lorentzian metric on the boundary must vanish modulo 2. The kink number is a measure of how many times the light cone tips over on the boundary. It vanishes if the boundary is everywhere spacelike. This result gives a generalization of a previous selection rule: The number of wormholes plus the number of kinks created during a topology change is conserved modulo 2.
  • space-time
  • quantum gravity: kink
  • topology