Noncommutative nature of the addition of noncollinear velocities in special relativity and the geometric phase method (commemorating the publication centennial of A Sommerfeld's work)

Abstract

In 1909, Arnold Sommerfeld used geometric calculations to show that the relativistic addition of two noncollinear velocities on an imaginary-radius sphere is a noncommutative operation. Sommerfeld was the first to use the geometric phase method to calculate the angle between the resulting velocities depending on the order in which they are added. For this, he related the value of this angle to the excess of the spherical triangle formed by the two original velocities and their sum. In 1931, Sommerfeld applied his method to analyze the Thomas precession.