Causal Variational Principles in the $\sigma$-Locally Compact Setting: Existence of Minimizers

Abstract

We prove the existence of minimizers of causal variational principles on second countable, locally compact Hausdorff spaces. Moreover, the corresponding Euler-Lagrange equations are derived. The method is to first prove the existence of minimizers of the causal variational principle restricted to compact subsets for a lower semi-continuous Lagrangian. Exhausting the underlying topological space by compact subsets and rescaling the corresponding minimizers, we obtain a sequence which converges vaguely to a regular Borel measure of possibly infinite total volume. It is shown that, for continuous Lagrangians of compact range, this measure solves the Euler-Lagrange equations. Furthermore, we prove that the constructed measure is a minimizer under variations of compact support. Under additional assumptions, it is proven that this measure is a minimizer under variations of finite volume. We finally extend our results to continuous Lagrangians decaying in entropy.