Differential Homological Algebra and General Relativity

Abstract

In 1916, F.S. Macaulay developed specific localization techniques for dealing with “unmixed polynomial ideals” in commutative algebra, transforming them into what he called “inverse systems” of partial differential equations. In 1970, D.C. Spencer and coworkers studied the formal theory of such systems, using methods of homological algebra that were giving rise to “differential homological algebra”, replacing unmixed polynomial ideals by “pure differential modules”. The use of “differential extension modules” and “differential double duality” is essential for such a purpose. In particular, 0-pure differential modules are torsion-free and admit an “absolute parametrization” by means of arbitrary potential like functions. In 2012, we have been able to extend this result to arbitrary pure differential modules, introducing a “relative parametrization” where the potentials should satisfy compatible “differential constraints”. We recently noticed that General Relativity is just a way to parametrize the Cauchy stress equations by means of the formal adjoint of the Ricci operator in order to obtain a “minimum parametrization” by adding sufficiently many compatible differential constraints, exactly like the Lorenz condition in electromagnetism. In order to make this difficult paper rather self-contained, these unusual purely mathematical results are illustrated by many explicit examples, two of them dealing with contact transformations, and even strengthening the comments we recently provided on the mathematical foundations of General Relativity and Gauge Theory. They also bring additional doubts on the origin and existence of gravitational waves.