Optimal metric regularity in general relativity follows from the RT-equations by elliptic regularity theory in L^p-spaces

DOI10.4310/MAA.2020.V27.N3.A1MaRDI QIDQ1983162zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Moritz Reintjes, Blake Temple

Publication date 15 September 2021

Published in Methods and Applications of Analysis (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1808.06455

zbMATH Keywords

elliptic PDE'sgeneral relativitygeometric analysisLorentzian geometryoptimal metric regularityregularity singularitiesshock waves

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Shock waves and blast waves in fluid mechanics (76L05) Einstein's equations (general structure, canonical formalism, Cauchy problems) (83C05) Space-time singularities, cosmic censorship, etc. (83C75)

Abstract: Shock wave solutions of the Einstein equations have been constructed in coordinate systems in which the gravitational metric is only Lipschitz continuous, but the connection $Gamma$ and curvature $Riem(Gamma)$ are both in $L^{infty}$. At this low level of regularity, the physical meaning of such gravitational metrics remains problematic. Here we address the mathematical problem as to whether the condition that $Riem(Gamma)$ has the same regularity as $Gamma$, is sufficient for the existence of a coordinate transformation which perfectly cancels out the jumps in the leading order derivatives of $deltaGamma$, thereby raising the regularity of the connection and the metric by one order--a subtle problem. We have now discovered, in a framework much more general than GR shock waves, that the regularization of non-optimal connections is determined by a nonlinear system of elliptic equations with matrix valued differential forms as unknowns, the Regularity Transformation equations, or RT-equations. In this paper we establish the first existence theory for the nonlinear RT-equations in the general case when $Gamma,mRiem(Gamma)in{W}^{m,p}$, $mgeq1$, $n<p<infty$, where $Gamma$ is any affine connection on an $n$-dimensional manifold. From this we conclude that for any such connection $Gamma(x)in{W}^{m,p}$ with $mRiem(Gamma)in{W}^{m,p}$, $mgeq1$, $n<p<infty$, given in $x$-coordinates, there always exists a coordinate transformation $xoy$ such that $Gamma(y)in{W}^{m+1,p}$. That is, $Gamma$ exhibits optimal regularity in $y$-coordinates. The problem of optimal regularity for the hyperbolic Einstein equations is thus resolved by elliptic regularity theory in $L^p$-spaces applied to the RT-equations.

Review text

In the paper under reviewing the authors establish the first existence theorems for the nonlinear Regularity Transformation equation (RT-equations) in the general case when $\Gamma, Riem(\Gamma)\in W^{m,p}$ for $m\geq1, n<p<\infty$, where $\Gamma$ is any affine connection on an $n$-dimensional manifold. From this the authors conclude that for any such connection $\Gamma(x) \in W^{m,p}$ with $Riem(\Gamma)\in W^{m,p}$, $m\geq1, n<p<\infty$, given in $x$-coordinates, there always exists a coordinate transformation $x\to y$ such that $\Gamma(x) \in W^{(m+1),p}$. This implies all discontinuities in $m$th derivatives of $\delta\Gamma$ cancel out, the transformation $x\to y$ raises the connection regularity for the hyperbolic Einstein-Hilbert equations is thus resolved by elliptic regular theory in $L^p$-spaces applied to RT-equations. The theorems proved apply to shock wave solutions of Einstein-Hilbert equations.

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Cited in

(7)

• The regularity transformation equations: an elliptic mechanism for smoothing gravitational metrics in general relativity
• Shock wave interactions and the Riemann-flat condition: the geometry behind metric smoothing and the existence of locally inertial frames in general relativity
• How to smooth a crinkled map of space-time: Uhlenbeck compactness for \(L^\infty\) connections and optimal regularity for general relativistic shock waves by the Reintjes-Temple equations
• On the optimal regularity implied by the assumptions of geometry. I: Connections on tangent bundles
• On weak solutions to the geodesic equation in the presence of curvature bounds
• Strong cosmic censorship with bounded curvature
• On the optimal regularity implied by the assumptions of geometry. II: Connections on vector bundles

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