Discrete Spacetime: a Web of Chains

Abstract

This paper studies the distribution of chain and maximal chain lengths in a causal set. We first provide a new derivation for these distributions for a causal set uniformly embedded in Minkowski space, for various dimensionalities, which includes a correction to previously available expressions. Results of numerical simulations show a better agreement with the improved theoretical distributions. As examples of applications of those distributions, we then expand on previous work of ours regarding their use in establishing whether a causal set is manifoldlike and, if it is, finding its dimensionality. We then compare this measure of the dimension with other methods in the literature.