Abstract. Classical general relativity takes place on a manifold with a metric of fixed, Lorentzian, signature. However, attempts to amalgamate general relativity with quantum theory frequently involve manifolds with metrics whose signatures are Lorentzian in some regions and Euclidean in others. (Indeed even more exotic possibilities are discussed frequently.) Most theoretical calculations rely on analyticity arguments to continue variables from the Euclidean to the Lorentzian regime and vice versa. This paper examines models of signature change. It looks at a single second-order quasi-linear partial differential equation on a fixed background, whose principal part is elliptic in one regime and hyperbolic in another, i.e. a mixed problem. It introduces some examples, explains heuristically the concept of a well-posed problem and then discusses the issues involved in constructing a robust numerical algorithm to solve well-posed problems. The paper includes a worked example illustrating the proposed techniques, and a discussion of the role of the potential curvature singularity on the transition hypersurface.

PACS numbers: 0270B, 0420E, 0425D

Print publication: Issue 23 (7 December 2001)
Received 15 January 2001, in final form 30 April 2001
Published 21 November 2001