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We show that in a spacetime geometry with general connection, there exist field redefinitions that replace the mixed-symmetry nonmetricity of the asymmetric connection with the sum of torsion and the field strength of special conformal transformations of a Lorentzian connection. In contrast to general relativity, generic action functionals give different results for metric versus Palatini-style variations. We consider some of the resulting issues in Poincar\`e gauge theory, where it is natural to vary both the solder form and the spin connection, and where the action may differ from the Einstein-Hilbert case. Independent variation may introduce nonmetricity as well as torsion. Appending the defining equation of nonmetricity to the Maurer-Cartan equations of the Poincar\`e Lie algebra, we show that the mixed symmetry components of nonmetricity can be absorbed into an altered torsion tensor, restoring local Lorentz symmetry and metric compatibility while including quadratic terms in the redefined curvature. In order to recover the original torsion and nonmetric fields, we replace the definition of nonmetricity by an additional structure equation. We show that the maximal Lie algebra compatible with the enlarged set is isomorphic to the conformal Lie algebra. Therefore, in a Lorentzian conformal geometry the sum of torsion and the field strength of special conformal transformations is given by the mixed symmetry nonmetricity of an equivalent asymmetric system., Comment: 11 pages plus citations

Ehlers, Pirani, and Schild argued that measurements of null and timelike geodesics yield Weyl and projective connections, respectively, with compatibility in the lightlike limit giving an integrable Weyl connection. Their conclusions hold only for a 4-dim representation of the conformal connection on the null cone, and by restricting reparameterizations of timelike geodesics to yield a torsion-free, affine connection. An arbitrary connection gives greater freedom. A linear connection for the conformal symmetry of null geodesics requires the SO(4,2) representation. The enlarged class of projective transformations of timelike geodesics changes Weyl's projective curvature, and we find invariant forms of the torsion and nonmetricity, along with a new, invariant, second rank tensor field generalizing the dilatational curvature without requiring a metric. We show that either projective or conformal connections require a monotonic, twice differentiable function on a spacetime region foliated by order isomorphic, totally ordered, twice differentiable timelike curves in a necessarily Lorentzian geometry. We prove that the conditions for projective and conformal Ricci flatness imply each other and gauge choices within either can reduce the geometry to the original Riemannian form. Thus, measurements of null and timelike geodesics lead to an SO(4,2) connection, with no requirement for a lightlike limit. Reduction to integrable Weyl symmetry can only follow from the field equations of a gravity theory. We show that the simplest quadratic spacetime action leads to this reduction., Comment: Reworked for conciseness, to stress new results, and to present stronger claims. 19 pages plus references

We find a large internal symmetry within 4-dimensional Poincare gauge theory. In the Riemann-Cartan geometry of Poincare gauge theory the field equation and geodesics are invariant under projective transformation, just as in affine geometry. However, in the Riemann-Cartan case the torsion and nonmetricity tensors change. By generalizing the Riemann-Cartan geometry to allow both torsion and nonmetricity while maintaining local Lorentz symmetry the difference of the antisymmetric part of the nonmetricity Q and the torsion T is a projectively invariant linear combination $S = T - Q$ with the same symmetry as torsion. The structure equations may be written entirely in terms of S and the corresponding Riemann-Cartan curvature. The new description of the geometry has manifest projective and Lorentz symmetries, and vanishing nonmetricity. Torsion, S and Q lie in the vector space of vector-valued 2-forms. Within the extended geometry we define rotations with axis in the direction of S. These rotate both torsion and nonmetricity while leaving S invariant. In n dimensions and (p, q) signature this gives a large internal symmetry. The four dimensional case acquires SO(11,9) or Spin(11,9) internal symmetry, sufficient for the Standard Model. The most general action up to linearity in second derivatives of the solder form now includes combinations quadratic in torsion and nonmetricity, torsion-nonmetricity couplings, and the Einstein-Hilbert action. Imposing projective invariance reduces this to dependence on S and curvature alone. The new internal symmetry decouples from gravity in agreement with the Coleman-Mandula theorem., Comment: 19 pages; 25 pp including references and 2 appendices Brief proof of equivalence of Weyl vector and trace of nonmetricity added

We study sources for torsion in Poincare gauge theory of any dimension, signature, and spin. We find that symmetric kinetic terms for non-Yang-Mills bosonic fields of arbitrary rank drive torsion. Our detailed discussion of spin-3/2 Rarita-Schwinger fields shows that they source all independent parts of the torsion. We develop systematic notation for spin-(2k+1)/2 fields and find the spin tensor for arbitrary k in n > 2k dimensions. For k > 0 there is a novel direct coupling between torsion and spinor fields. We also cast the well-known gauge relation between the canonical and Belinfante-Rosenfield energy tensors in terms of different choices of independent variables., Comment: 28 pp. Introductory Sections condensed; 2 and 3 dimensional examples added

We detail a novel theoretical prediction that a geometric torsion model for scalar field dark matter could lead to oscillations, on readily probeable timescales, in the time evolution of cosmological redshifts of astronomical sources with qualitatively distinct behavior at different redshift scales (larger or smaller than z ~ 0.1). We present an analysis of extant spectroscopy data from the Australian Dark Energy Survey (OzDES) to assess whether such signals are present across a wide array of cosmological sources and baseline redshifts on the six-year timescale of OzDES. While a simple Fourier analysis of redshift variations weakly identifies some candidate frequencies, and so further investigation with future cosmological data sets may be warranted, we have not found compelling empirical evidence for the theory under consideration in this data set, placing tentative constraints on its free parameters., Comment: 18 pages; 5 figures

A novel perspective on defining black holes designed to be more broadly applicable outside of asymptotically flat spacetimes, in the context of classical general relativity, is presented, discussed, and characterized. The construction formalizes the heuristic idea that black holes are the "past Cauchy development of the set of singularities". As such, the formulation depends in a critical way on the identification of singularities, which has been treated in the literature through various boundary constructions. While many of the known boundary constructions (e.g. Schmidt's b-boundary or Geroch's g-boundary) could in principal be cited as underlying one's notion of a black hole, well-known topological concerns leads us to take the perspective that Scott and Szekeres' abstract boundary provides the most natural choice. The framework is utilized to put forward a general, non-IVP formulation of the Weak Cosmic Censorship Conjecture., Comment: 35 pages, 14 figures

We investigate the occurrence of naked singularities, local and global, in the incoming Vaidya spacetimes with zero initial mass. While it is well-known that these spacetimes admit locally and globally naked singularities, we demonstrate that globally naked singularities are significantly more common than is stressed in the literature, being generic in a natural topology on this collection of spacetimes. A heuristic consequence of the results is that the slow accumulation of mass is both necessary and sufficient for both types of naked singularities in these spacetimes. We demonstrate that the naked singularity, as long as it exists, always has divergent curvature (Kretschmann scalar) associated to it along emerging null curves, regardless of the form of the mass function. In particular, a consequence is that the curvature strength of the singularity cannot be smoothed away., Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure

Independent variation of the metric and connection in the Einstein-Hilbert action, called the Palatini variation, is generally taken to be equivalent to the usual formulation of general relativity in which only the metric is varied. However, when an abelian symmetry is allowed for the connection, the Palatini variation leads to an integrable Weyl geometry, not Riemannian. We derive this result using two possible metric/connection pairs: (1) the metric and general coordinate connection and (2) the solder form and local Lorentz spin connection of Poincar\`e gauge theory. Both lead to the same conclusion. Finally, we relate our work to other treatments in the literature., Comment: Modified presentation. 19 pages