Abstract

The formalism of discrete differential forms has been used very successfully in computational electrodynamics. It is based on the idea that only the observables (i.e., the electromagnetic field) should be discretised and that coordinates should not possess any relevance in the numerical method. This is reflected in the fact that Maxwell's theory can be written entirely in geometric terms using differential forms. Einstein's theory is entirely geometric as well and can also be written in terms of differential forms. In this talk I will describe an attempt to discretise Einstein's theory in a way similar to Maxwell's theory. I will describe the advantages and point out disadvantages. I will conclude with some remarks about more general discrete structures on manifolds.