Translations as gauge transformations

Abstract

AbstractA local description of space and time in which translations are included in the group of gauge transformations is studied using the formalism of fibre bundles. It is shown that the flat Minkowski space–time may be obtained from a non-flat connection in a de Sitter structured fibre bundle by choosing at least two different cross-sections. The interaction terms in the covariant derivative of a Dirac wave function that correspond to translations may be interpreted as the mass term of the Dirac equation, and then the two cross-sections (gauges) correspond to the description of a fermion and antifermion respectively.