On flat complete causal Lorentzian manifolds

Abstract

We describe up to finite coverings causal flat affine complete Lorentzian manifolds such that the past and the future of any point are closed near this point. We say that these manifolds are strictly causal. In particular, we prove that their fundamental groups are virtually abelian. In dimension 4, there is only one, up to a scaling factor, strictly causal manifold which is not globally hyperbolic. For a generic point of this manifold, either the past or the future is not closed and contains a lightlike straight line.