Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-symmetry-and-relativity-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2017/1/a/solution

For a massive particle on a timelike world line, the four-velocity is , with . Its four-momentum is and its four-force is . Here is proper time. A massless trajectory does not admit this massive-particle proper-time parametrization.
The asserted classification of arbitrary orthogonal vectors is false. With the chosen Minkowski metric, and are nonzero, orthogonal and both spacelike vectors. Also and are orthogonal null vectors. The valid statement is that a nonzero vector orthogonal to a timelike vector is spacelike. To prove it, choose the rest frame of the timelike vector, ; then forces , so .
The relativistic energy-momentum relation gives
Therefore . A photon is an example: . A collection of photons need not itself have zero invariant mass.

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