Year: 2002
Type: article
Abstract: This Letter describes a scalar curvature invariant for general relativity with a certain, distinctive feature. While many such invariants exist, this one vanishes in regions of space-time which can be said unambiguously to contain no gravitational radiation. In more general regions which incontrovertibly support nontrivial radiation fields, it can be used to extract local, coordinate-independent information partially characterizing that radiation. While a clear, physical interpretation is possible only in such radiation zones, a simple algorithm can be given to extend the definition smoothly to generic regions of space-time.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Authors: Christopher Beetle, Lior M. Burko
Institution: University of Utah
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2084459198