Minkowski Geometry

This book consists of 16 surveys on Thurston's work and its later development. The authors are mathematicians who were strongly influenced by Thurston's publications and ideas. The subjects discussed include, among others, knot theory, the topology of 3-manifolds, circle packings, complex projective structures, hyperbolic geometry, Kleinian groups, foliations, mapping class groups, Teichmüller theory, anti-de Sitter geometry, and co-Minkowski geometry.

Hyperbolic numbers are proposed for a rigorous geometric formalization of the space-time symmetry of two-dimensional Special Relativity. The system of hyperbolic numbers as a simple extension of the field of complex numbers is extensively studied in the book. In particular, an exhaustive solution of the "twin paradox" is given, followed by a detailed exposition of space-time geometry and trigonometry. Finally, an appendix on general properties of commutative hypercomplex systems with four unities is presented.

Gravitation, electromagnetics and the two types of nuclear forces constitute the four fundamental forces of nature which regulate our everyday life. Amazingly, they are all described by a single idea of the 19th century proposed by Bernhard Riemann, and with the exception of gravitation, these ideas have been since confirmed by high energy experiments and cosmological observations. Geometry of the Fundamental Interactions - On Riemann's Legacy to High Energy Physics and Cosmology is a mathematical narrative of how we have come to agree on such a complex plot of nature, starting with the basic geometrical concepts and ending with hints on the perspective for cosmology.

In Riemannian geometry, measurements are made with both yardsticks and protractors. These tools are represented by a family of inner-products. In Riemann-Finsler geometry (or Finsler geometry for short), one is in principle equipped with only a family of Minkowski norms. So ardsticks are assigned but protractors are not. With such a limited tool kit, it is natural to wonder just how much geometry one can uncover and describe?