Complex degenerate metrics in general relativity: a covariant extension of the Moore–Penrose algorithm

Abstract The Moore–Penrose algorithm provides a generalized notion of an inverse, applicable to degenerate matrices. In this paper, we introduce a covariant extension of the Moore–Penrose method that permits to deal with general relativity involving complex non-invertible metrics. Unlike the standard technique, this approach guarantees the uniqueness of the pseudoinverse metric through the fulfillment of a set of covariant relations, and it allows for the proper definition of a covariant derivative operator and curvature-related tensors. Remarkably, the degenerate nature of the metric can be given a geometrical representation in terms of a torsion tensor, which vanishes only in special cases. Applications of the new scheme to complex black hole geometries and cosmological models are also investigated, and a generalized concept of geodesics that exploits the notion of autoparallel and extremal curves is presented. Relevance of our findings to quantum gravity and quantum cosmology is finally discussed.