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Garth
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The general idea is that as energy-momentum is a frame independent quantity it is conserved on any space-like surface. The key idea, as taught in MTW, is the 'boundary of a boundary is zero' (Gravitation Box 15.1 Pg 365).marcus said:I know, Garth
but it is just one more complication (the volume has to expand with the universe) so suppose we keep it simple and consider a finite universe!
I still have my question. You can extend it to cover infinite case if you want:would anybody like to discuss how, even in classical GR, the energy-momentum tensor could be conserved GLOBALLY, that is as an integral over some spatial slice?
I mean to distinguish this from having a quantity defined at a point that is conserved locally.
if we are talking about a global quantity belonging to the whole universe (as I think hossi was talking) then how do you define it? what time evolution conserves it? what sort of machinery do you need to make the idea of conservation meaningful? how do you integrate?
it would be great if someone wants to explain, simply what the mathematical setting would be to have either energy or energy-momentum globally conserved on a universe-wide basis----even in just CLASSICAL gen rel.
Garth