Because of my mathematical background, I've been finding it hard to relate the physics-talk I've been reading, with mathematical objects.
In (say special) relativity, we have a Lorentzian manifold, M. This manifold has an atlas with local coordinates.
In differential geometry, when people talk about a ϕ1:U1→V where V is an open set of M, and U is an open set of R4; and if another is ϕ2:U2→W is another (U2 and open in R4, and W an open in M), then ϕ−11|V∩W∘ϕ2|ϕ−12(V∩W) is a coordinate change.
However, in physics it seems that the meaning is different. Indeed if p∈M then you can have a reference frame at p, but you can also have a reference frame that is accelerated at p. I'm not sure how to interpret this mathematically! What is the mathematical analogue of having an accelerated frame of reference at a point, as opposed to having an inertial frame of reference at a point?
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