Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2009/iii/paper-59/2/f/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 59 2 f Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A real spacetime point is represented by its twistor line , lying entirely in projective null twistor space. Each point of is a null twistor specifying one real null geodesic through . Their union is the null cone with vertex . Thus the twistor description of the null cone is the family of null geodesics parametrized by the single line .
Equivalently, the spacetime points on that cone are precisely those whose twistor lines meet :For distinct finite points this follows immediately from the incidence equations: a shared nonzero obeys , which is equivalent to , the null-separation condition. The flag description extends it to the compact spacetime. Projective null twistors encode whole unoriented null geodesics, so this includes both future and past generators; a time orientation and an affine patch distinguish the two halves. The line itself is the sphere of null directions at the vertex, not a three-dimensional image of the cone embedded pointwise into twistor space.
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