Differential geometry from differential equations

DOI10.1007/S002200100548MaRDI QIDQ5953705zbMATH OpenOpenAlexWikidataFDO

Authors Simonetta Frittelli, Carlos N. Kozameh, Ezra T. Newman

Publication date 27 January 2002

Published in Communications in Mathematical Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0012058

zbMATH Keywords

conformal metricEinstein field equationlight-like geodesicsLorentz signature

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Nonlinear higher-order PDEs (35G20) Global differential geometry of Lorentz manifolds, manifolds with indefinite metrics (53C50) Applications of global differential geometry to the sciences (53C80) Einstein's equations (general structure, canonical formalism, Cauchy problems) (83C05)

Abstract: We first show how, from the general 3rd order ODE of the form z=F(z,z',z,s), one can construct a natural Lorentzian conformal metric on the four-dimensional space (z,z',z,s). When the function F(z,z',z,s) satisfies a special differential condition of the form, U[F]=0, the conformal metric possesses a conformal Killing field, xi = partial with respect to s, which in turn, allows the conformal metric to be mapped into a three dimensional Lorentzian metric on the space (z,z',z) or equivalently, on the space of solutions of the original differential equation. This construction is then generalized to the pair of differential equations, z_ss = S(z,z_s,z_t,z_st,s,t) and z_tt = T(z,z_s,z_t,z_st,s,t), with z_s and z_t, the derivatives of z with respect to s and t. In this case, from S and T, one can again, in a natural manner, construct a Lorentzian conformal metric on the six dimensional space (z,z_s,z_t,z_st,s,t). When the S and T satisfy equations analogous to U[F]=0, namely equations of the form M[S,T]=0, the 6-space then possesses a pair of conformal Killing fields, xi =partial with respect to s and eta =partial with respect to t which allows, via the mapping to the four-space of z, z_s, z_t, z_st and a choice of conformal factor, the construction of a four-dimensional Lorentzian metric. In fact all four-dimensional Lorentzian metrics can be constructed in this manner. This construction, with further conditions on S and T, thus includes all (local) solutions of the Einstein equations.

Review text

The origin of the present paper comes from the question how the Einstein field equation changes under a conformal transformation. To this topic the authors of the present paper have already published several papers. One of the reasons why this is an interesting question is related to the fact that light rays, i.e., light-like geodesics considered as point sets, do not change by a conformal transformation. Therefore, the characteristic initial value problem for the Einstein field equation has close relations to conformal transformations. A synonymous notion for ``characteristic initial value problem is ``null surface formulation of GR. Here, the authors clarify many of the mathematical details of this research project. Especially, they give a relation of the second order partial differential equation (Einstein field equation) to a certain third order ordinary differential equation. This part may be of interest also for the application to other partial differential equations.

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