Two-dimensional Minkowski causal automorphisms and conformal maps

Abstract

Treating the two-dimensional Minkowski space as a Wick rotated version of the complex plane, we characterize the causal automorphisms in the two-dimensional Minkowski space as the Märzke–Wheeler maps of a certain class of observers. We also characterize the differentiable causal automorphisms of this space as the Minkowski conformal maps whose restriction to the time axis belongs to the class of observers mentioned above. We answer a recently raised question about whether causal automorphisms are characterized by their wave equation. As another application of the theory, we give a proper time formula for accelerated observers which solves the twin paradox in two-dimensional Minkowski spacetime.