GMIG is developing a formulation of relativistic elasticity that extends relativistic hydrodynamics. Starting from the relativity work of Demetrios Christodoulou, GMIG’s work introduces a material manifold meant to describe the properties of a continuum independent of its embedding in space-time.

The foundation includes a configuration and a thermodynamic state function. Recently, GMIG has verified the non-relativistic and Newtonian limits of the initial formation through a perturbation of the Minkowski metric. One of GMIG’s long-term objectives is to study fully relativistic neutron star models with elastic crusts and tidal deformation.