Geodesic deviation and Minkowski space (Q749877)

The authors show how given any one complex solution of the geodesic deviation equation for null geodesics in four dimensional space-times it is possible to write the general solution of the deviation equations as quadratures over the given solution. They then show that the solution space of the optical equations defines a three-dimensional manifold which naturally possesses a Lorentzian conformal metric. Finally they consider various ramifications of their results including an abstract formulation of the conformal three-space.