
The appearance of two geometries in one and the same gravitational theory is familiar. Usually, as in the Brans-Dicke theory or in string theory, these are conformally related Riemannian geometries. Is this the most general relation between the two geometries allowed by physics ? We study this question by supposing that the physical geometry on which matter dynamics take place could be Finslerian rather than just Riemannian. An appeal to the weak equivalence principle and causality then leads us the conclusion that the Finsler geometry has to reduce to a Riemann geometry whose metric - the physical metric - is related to the gravitational metric by a generalization of the conformal transformation.
15 pages, TeX
High Energy Physics - Theory, High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th), Astrophysics (astro-ph), FOS: Physical sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), Astrophysics, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory, High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th), Astrophysics (astro-ph), FOS: Physical sciences, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc), Astrophysics, General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 391 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 1% | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Top 1% | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Average |
