A new twist on the geometry of gravitational plane waves

DOI10.1007/JHEP09(2017)039zbMATH Open1382.83037arXiv1705.09533OpenAlexW3105943518MaRDI QIDQ1705930FDOQ1705930

Authors: Graham M. Shore 

Publication date: 19 March 2018

Published in: Journal of High Energy Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: The geometry of twisted null geodesic congruences in gravitational plane wave spacetimes is explored, with special focus on homogeneous plane waves. The role of twist in the relation of the Rosen coordinates adapted to a null congruence with the fundamental Brinkmann coordinates is explained and a generalised form of the Rosen metric describing a gravitational plane wave is derived. The Killing vectors and isometry algebra of homogeneous plane waves (HPWs) are described in both Brinkmann and twisted Rosen form and used to demonstrate the coset space structure of HPWs. The van Vleck-Morette determinant for twisted congruences is evaluated in both Brinkmann and Rosen descriptions. The twisted null congruences of the Ozsvath-Schucking,`anti-Mach' plane wave are investigated in detail. These developments provide the necessary geometric toolkit for future investigations of the role of twist in loop effects in quantum field theory in curved spacetime, where gravitational plane waves arise generically as Penrose limits; in string theory, where they are important as string backgrounds; and potentially in the detection of gravitational waves in astronomy.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1705.09533

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zbMATH Keywords

classical theories of gravityquantum field theory in curved spacetimedifferential and algebraic geometry

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Equations of motion in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C10) Applications of differential geometry to physics (53Z05) String and superstring theories; other extended objects (e.g., branes) in quantum field theory (81T30) Einstein's equations (general structure, canonical formalism, Cauchy problems) (83C05) Quantization of the gravitational field (83C45) Gravitational waves (83C35) Spinor and twistor methods in general relativity and gravitational theory; Newman-Penrose formalism (83C60)

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Cited In (15)

• The angular momentum of plane-fronted gravitational waves in the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity
• New coordinates for the amplitude parameter space of continuous gravitational waves
• Title not available (Why is that?)
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• Screw-symmetric gravitational waves: a double copy of the vortex
• Memory, Penrose limits and the geometry of gravitational shockwaves and gyratons

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