Causal coverage in ordered locales and spacetimes
Abstract
We develop relativistic causality theory in the setting of point-free topology by introducing a notion of causal coverage in ordered locales, generalising their canonical coverage relation to incorporate causal structure. This improves Christensen and Crane’s construction of “causal sites.” We connect to sheaf theory by showing that causal coverages can be interpreted as a generalised Grothendieck topology, and the sheaf condition as a type of deterministic time evolution. To develop these notions, we introduce and study parallel ordered locales. Causal coverage naturally induces a notion of domain of dependence. Comparing the localic and curve-wise definitions in spacetimes, the localic domains strictly contain the classical ones.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories
Homotopy and Cohomology in Algebraic Topology
Advanced Differential Geometry Research
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Mathematical Physics
- Volume
- 67
- Issue
- 8
- Publication date
- 1 August 2026
- Language
- EN