The local validity of special relativity, part 2: matter dynamics
Fletcher, S. C. & Weatherall, J. O.
(2023).
The local validity of special relativity, part 2: matter dynamics.
Philosophy of Physics,
1(1).
https://doi.org/10.31389/pop.7
In this two-part essay, we distinguish several senses in which general relativity has been regarded as “locally special relativistic.” In Part 1, we focused on senses in which a relativistic spacetime may be said to be “locally (approximately) Minkowskian.” Here, in Part 2, we consider what it might mean to say that a matter theory is “locally special relativistic.” We isolate and evaluate three criteria in the literature and show that they are incompatible: matter theories satisfying one will generally violate others. We then consider what would happen if any of those criteria failed for a given theory.
