Light-cones, almost light-cones and almost-complex light-cones

DOI10.1007/S10714-017-2264-1zbMATH Open1397.83011arXiv1704.04971OpenAlexW2605452550MaRDI QIDQ1787933FDOQ1787933

Authors: Ezra T. Newman 

Publication date: 5 October 2018

Published in: General Relativity and Gravitation (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We point out an unusual relationship among a variety of null geodesic congruences; (a) the generators of ordinary light-cones and (b) certain (related) shear-free but twisting congruences in Minkowski Space-time as well as (c) asymptotically shear-free null geodesic congruences that exist in the neighborhood of Penrose's Scri in Einstein or Einstein-Maxwell asymptotically flat-space-times. We refer to these geodesic congruences respectively as: Lignt-Cones (LCs), as Almost-Complex- Light-Cones, (ACLCs), [though they are real they resemble complex light-cones in complex Minkowski space] and finally to a family of congruences in asymptotically flat-spaces as `Almost Light-Cones', (ALC). The two essential points of resemblance among the three families are: (1) they are all either shear-free or asymptotically shear-free and (2) in each family the individual members of the family can be labeled by the points in a real or complex four-dimensional manifold. As an example, the Minkowski space LCs are labeled by the (real) coordinate value of their apex. In the case of (ACLCs) (complex coordinate values), the congruences will have non-vanishing twist whose magnitude is determined by the imaginary part of the complex coordinate values. In studies of gravitational radiation, Bondi-type of null surfaces and their associated Bondi coordinates have been almost exclusively used for calculations. Some surprising relations arise if, instead of the Bondi coordinates, one uses ALCs and their associated coordinate systems in the analysis of the Einstein-Maxwell equations near Scri. More explicitly and surprisingly, the asymptotic Bianchi Identities expressed in the coordinates of the ALCs, turn directly into many of the standard definitions and relations of classical mechanics.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1704.04971

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zbMATH Keywords

Bianchi identitiesEinstein-Maxwell equationsasymptotically flatlight-cones

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Equations of motion in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C10) Applications of differential geometry to physics (53Z05) Einstein's equations (general structure, canonical formalism, Cauchy problems) (83C05) Einstein-Maxwell equations (83C22) Approximation procedures, weak fields in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C25)

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Cited In (3)

• Classical mechanics via general relativity and Maxwell's theory: a bit of magic
• A changed perspective concerning asymptotically flat Einstein/Einstein-Maxwell space-times
• Observed angles and geodesic light-cone coordinates

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