Relativity theory and the creation of matter

Abstract It is shown that the continuous creation of matter can be treated by the standard methods of general relativity provided that the possibility of a ‘zero-point’ stress is allowed. The matter ‘created’ is the mass-equivalent of the work done by this stress in the expansion of the universe. According to relativity theory this stress also makes a contribution to the density of gravitational mass. When these two effects are taken into account it is shown that the Newtonian analogues of relativistic models of the universe discovered by Milne and the writer can be extended to cover all relativistic models. This result makes it possible to obtain a unified physical interpretation of Hoyle’s treatment of the cosmological problem. It is suggested that the interpretation in terms of a zero-point stress may lead to a connexion with the quantum theory of fields.