Irregularities in the metric tensor of a signature-changing space-time suggest that field equations on such space-times might be regarded as distributional. We review the formalism of tensor distributions on differentiable manifolds, and examine to what extent rigorous meaning can be given to field equations in the presence of signature-change, in particular those involving covariant derivatives. We find that, for both continuous and discontinuous signature-change, covariant differentiation can be defined on a class of tensor distributions wide enough to be physically interesting.
The Einstein-Maxwell equations are examined for a distributional stress tensor depending on the mean shape of an immersion in a manifold with a piecewise smooth metric tensor. A solution is discussed that matches an exterior Reissner-Nordstrom metric to an interior Minkowski metric. Such a solution extends the Dirac particle model to incorporate both gravitational and electromagnetic interactions.
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