ae PS TEWEeeobs eee ust oh vty 263407 200 ; Yo World Scientific NEW JERSEY - LONDON + SINGAPORE - BEIJING + SHANGHAI - HONG KONG + TAIPEI - CHENNAIPublished by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Lid. 5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224 USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601 UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library, INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL RELATIVITY Copyright © 2007 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher. For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher. ISBN-13 978-981-270-584-6 ISBN-10 981-270-584-8 ISBN-13 978-981-270-585-3 (pbk) ISBN-10 981-270-585-6 (pbk) Printed in Singapore by World Scientific Printers (S) Pte LtdFor KayPreface Eleven years after Einstein's theory of special relativity completely changed our understanding of the relationship between space and time (Einstein (1905)], his theory of general relativity revolutionized our understanding of how mass and energy change the underlying space-time structure of the physical universe [Einstein (1916)]. Some time ago I had to learn general relativity in connection with my research. I had great difficulty listening to the experts and understanding what they were doing. I decided I had to teach the subject to myself, and I proceeded to do so. Much later, I converted my notes to a semester course at William and Mary, which was offered three times. It was aimed at physics graduate students, but many undergraduates participated, and excelled. The students seemed to learn from it and enjoy it, and the outcome was very satisfying. I decided that I would convert these lectures into a book entitled Introduction to General Relativity. General relativity is a difficult subject for two reasons. The first is that the math is unfamiliar to most physics students, and the second is that since the four-dimensional coordinate system has no intrinsic meaning, it is difficult to get at the physical interpretation and physical consequences of any result. The goals of the present text are as follows: * The book is aimed at physics graduate students and advanced un- dergraduates. Only a working knowledge of classical lagrangian mechanics is assumed,’ although an acquaintance with special rela- tivity will make the book more meaningful. Within this framework, the material is self-contained; © The necessary mathematics is developed within the context of a 1 As presented, for example, in [Fetter and Walecka (2003)]. viiviii Introduction to General Relativity conerete physical problem — that of a point mass constrained to move without friction on an arbitrarily shaped two-dimensional surface; * A strong emphasis is placed on the physical interpretation and physical consequences in all applications; * The book is not meant to be a weighty tome for experts (indeed, I could not write one), but, in my opinion, most of the interesting, applications of GR are covered; * The final “Special Topics” chapter takes the reader up to a few areas of active research. At the end of the course at William and Mary, students selected a topic of current interest, wrote a term paper, and then gave a talk to the class in the format of a contributed session of an American Physical Society meeting (complete with abstract). I was amazed and pleased with the level at which the students were able to perform. It is my sincere hope that this text, will provide useful background for other young people and aid them in their exploration of many of the fascinating modern developments based on Einstein’s theory of general relativity. An extensive bibliography has not been attempted, although most of the comparable and more advanced texts are referenced, as are relevant websites. Since general relativity is an old subject, no effort has been made to trace the origin of the examples and problems, many of which are modified versions of those in the list of texts and monographs. I was delighted when World Scientific Publishing Company, which had done an exceptional job with two of my previous books, showed enthusiasm for publishing this new one. I would like to thank Dr. K. K. Phua, Execu- tive Chairman of World Scientific Publishing Company, and my editor Ms. Lakshmi Narayanan, for their help and support on this project. I would also like to thank my colleagues Paolo Amore, Brian Serot, and J. Wallace Van Orden for their reading of the manuscript. Williamsburg, Virginia John Dirk Walecka January 3, 2007 Governor’s Distinguished CEBAF Professor of Physics, emeritus College of William and MaryContents Preface 1. Introduction 2. Particle on a Two-Dimensional Surface 2.1 Infinitesimal Displacements . . 2.2 Lagrange’s Equations . 2.3. Reciprocal Basis 2.4 Geodesic Motion - : 2.5 Role of Coordinates .........-- Curvilinear Coordinate Systems 3.1 Line Element . . 3.2 Reciprocal Basis 3.3. Metric . 3.4 Vectors 3.5. Tensors oe 3.6 Change of Basis... . . 3.7 Transformation Law . . 3.8. Affine Connection . 3.9 Example: Polar Coordinates Particle on a Two-Dimensional Surface—Revisited 4.1 Motion in Three-Dimensional Euclidian Space . . 4.2 Parallel Displacement ........---Introduction to General Relativity Some Tensor Analysis 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 eae 58 5.9 Covariant Derivative . The Riemann Curvature Tensor Second Covariant Derivative . . . Covariant Differentiation Symmetry Properties of the Riemann Tensor Bianchi Identities... . . The Einstein Tensor Fxample—Surface of a Sphere . Volume element Special Relativity 6.1 Basic Principles . . . . Four-Vectors Relativistic Particle Motion eae Lorentz Transformations . . . General Tensor Transformation Law . . . . Relativistic Hydrodynamics . ‘Transition to General Relativity . . General Relativity Binstein’s Theory Newtonian Limit ‘The Equivalence Principle . . . . Local Freely Falling Frame (LF)... . Spherically Symmetric Solution to Field Equations Solution in Vacuum Interpretation of Schwarzschild Metric fe A Few Applications . Precession of Perihelion Lagrangian - Equations of Motion . . . Equilibrium Circular Orbits Small Oscillations About Circular Orbits. . . Some Numbers and Comparison with Experiment Deflection of Light .. . . 51 51 54 60 64 67 68 69 72 76 87 87 88 91 98 109 sabe 120 123 123 126Contents 9. Gravitational Redshift 9.1 Basic Observation 9.2. Frequency Shift . . 9.3. Propagation of Light . 9.4 A Cyclic Process 10. Neutron Stars 10.1 Hydrodynamics in General Relativity ©... 000+ 10.2 Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (TOV) Equations. . . 103 Relativistic Mean Field Theory of Nuclear Matter (RMFT) 10.4 Neutron Stars and Black Holes... 0.02 eevee 11. Cosmology 11.1 Uniform Mass Background : 11.2 Robertson-Walker Metric with k 11.3 Solution to Einstein’s Equations 114 Interpretation 11.5 Cosmological Redshift 11.6 Horizon. 11,7Some Comments 12. Gravitational Radiation 12.1 Linearized Theory. . 12.2 Auxiliary (Lorentz) Condition . 12.3 Plane-Wave Solution to the Binstein Field Equations . « 12.4 Interpretation... . . . 12.5 Detection 1 Special Topics 13.1 Binstein-Hilbert Lagrangian... . « 13.2 Cosmological Constant... . 13.3 Additional Scalar Field . 13.4 Robertson-Walker Metric with k #0... Sm RM ceed cere heaeeeceeeneeeeen 14. Problems Appendix A Reduction of g#” 5Ru, to covariant divergences 173 174 174 176 178 181 181 190 201 210 218 229xii Introduction to General Relativity Appendix B_ Robertson-Walker Metric with k 4 0 Bibliography Index 325, 327 331Chapter 1 Introduction Newton's second law of motion, formulated over three centuries ago, forms the backbone of classical physics and continues to describe most of what we observe in the world around us. It is easily stated. One defines the primary inertial coordinate system as a system that is at rest with respect to the fixed stars. The second law then states that in this inertial frame the rate of change of momentum of a point object with inertial mass m; and momentum mi is given by the applied force F ; Newton's second law (1.4) Furthermore, any frame moving with constant velocity relative to the pri- mary inertial coordinate system is again an inertial frame in which Newton's second law holds. In all these frames, it is assumed that there is a single, universal time t. Of course, three-dimensional space here is euclidian, obey- ing all of Euclid’s postulates. Newton’s law of gravitation states that the force between a point object with gravitational mass mg and another object of mass M separated by a displacement vector # is given by GMm, 7 P= Poor ; Newton's law of gravitation (1.2) Here M is either a point mass, or one is outside of a spherically symmetric distributed mass with 7 referring to its center, and G is Newton’s constant. If these two expressions are equated, and it is assumed that mj = mg with both being constant, then that mass cancels and one obtains de ae (1.3)2 Introduction to General Relativity This expression implies that all massive objects with any m; = mg move the same way in the gravitational field of the mass M, a result that accords with what we observe in the world around us and what Galileo confirmed long ago in his celebrated experiment dropping various objects from the leaning tower of Pisa. At the beginning of the 20th century, two fundamental modifications of classical physics were discovered. The first was quantum mechanics, which describes very different behavior in the microscopic domain, yet reduces to Newton’s laws in the appropriate limit. We shall have very little to say about quantum mechanics in this text. The second was Einstein’s theory of special relativity [Einstein (1905)]. The Michelson-Morley experiment searched for a shift in the fringes of an interferometer moving with vari- ous velocities with respect to the primary inertial coordinate system. This experiment ultimately implied that the speed of light ¢ is the same in any inertial frame, a most amazing and non-intuitive result at complete variance with how one adds velocities in classical physics. Lorentz had discovered an algebraic transformation that left the form of the wave equation for light invariant. It was Einstein’s genius to give that transformation a physical interpretation and place the transformed coordinates in a one-to-one cor- respondence with what is actually observed in various inertial frames. The consequences of this association are profound: time is relative and varies from frame to frame; length is also relative; a particle’s mass depends on its velocity; there is a relation between energy and mass EB = mc?, and so on. The four-dimensional space (2, 2?, 3,2") = (#,ct) in which these co- ordinate transformations take place is no longer euclidian. If one writes an infinitesimal physical displacement in this space as ds, then the square of this displacement, the invariant interval (ds)? = ds - ds, is given by a (ds)? = 37° gyda” pala 1000 0100 Suv = 0010 (a) 000-1 The quantity guy is known as the metric. In chapter 6 of this book we review the basic principles of Einstein’s theory of special relativity and many of its implications, which have been repeatedly confirmed experimentally overIntroduction 3 the intervening years. It was again Einstein's genius to realize two profound implications of the above results.! The first is the implication of the equivalence principle that m; = mg m= mg ; equivalence principle (1.5) ‘The first mass m,; governs the acceleration of an object with respect to the fixed stars, and the second mass mg determines the strength of the gravitational force. Why should these things have anything to do with each other? It is a consequence of the equivalence principle that all particles follow the same trajectory in a gravitational field independent of their mass. ‘Thus the trajectory of a particle in such a field is determined only by the geometry of the field. ‘This observation provided one of the key points of departure for general relativity. ‘The second key insight was that the world in which we live, at least in free space and moving with uniform velocity, is not a nice four-dimensional euclidian space, but a rather mysterious Minkowski space with the indefinite metric of Eq. (1.4). Is there any reason that four-dimensional space might not have a more general structure? That it might also be curved rather than flat? For example, a particle can move without friction on a flat two-dimensional surface, in which case the trajectory is simply a straight line. That surface might also be curved and distorted, in which case the trajectories can become very involved. Indeed, the mechanics problem of a particle moving without friction on an arbitrarily shaped two-dimensional surface will form the paradigm for all the physics and mathematics we subsequently do in this book. We shall show that the trajectories in this case are just the geodesics on the surface — the curves of minimum (or stationary) physical distance. ‘Thus they are entirely determined by the geometry of the surface! Js it possible that the presence of mass (and energy) as a source can produce a curved four-dimensional space-time such that the equation for the goodesies in this space just reproduces Eq. (1.3) in the appropriate limit? Ifso, one would have a unified description of both Newton's second law and. his universal law of gravitation, two cornerstones of classical physics. It is just this problem that is solved by Einstein's theory of general relativity [Einstein (1916)]. ~TThese results are now universally presented to students at the introductory physics level. How many other such results are there that have profound implications currently beyond our grasp??4 Introduction to General Relativity In order to formulate the theory, one has to have in his or her arse- nal the mathematical tools describing a curved space in higher dimensions. This is the theory of riemannian geometry. In chapter 3, we first present a straightforward discussion of curvilinear coordinates in higher dimensional euclidian space, including the notion of vectors and tensors. In chapter 5, this discussion is generalized to discuss curved spaces, starting from our paradigm of a particle moving without friction on a curved two-dimensional surface. The only assumption made in this book about the reader’s back- ground is that he or she is familiar with classical lagrangian mechanics as presented, for example, in [Fetter and Walecka (2003)]. Beyond that, the reader should find the material in this text self-contained.” ‘The great power of classical lagrangian mechanics, which can be derived from Hamilton’s variational principle, is that it is freed from any particular choice of coordinates. Thus in the problem of the particle moving on an arbitrary two-dimensional surface, discussed in detail in chapters 2 and 4, one can introduce any set of linearly independent generalized coordinates (q',q?) on the surface with which to describe the particle's location and subsequent motion. We will assume that there is a unique, flat, tangent plane at each point on the surface. We make use of the fact that an in- finitesimal physical displacement in the surface is identical to that in the tangent plane, and we then demonstrate how each choice of generalized coordinates carries with it an associated metric on the surface. We pro- ceed to derive the lagrangian for particle motion on the surface and the corresponding set of Lagrange’s equations for (q!,q?). These form a set of two coupled, second-order, non-linear differential equations in the time, with the surface entering only through the affine connection, a first-order, nonlinear differential form in the metric. We then show that the equa- tions of motion are identical to those for the geodesics on the surface. The observation that the information on the intrinsic structure of the surface must somehow be contained in the affine connection forms the basis for our development of riemannian geometry in chapter 5. In that chapter, we show how the Riemann tensor, a first-order, nonlinear differential form in the affine connection, characterizes the curvature of the space. ?Some familiarity with the rest of classical mechanics, as presented in [Fetter and Walecka (2003)], as well as with special relativity and other aspects of modern physics, as presented, for example, in [Ohanian (1995)], will make this book more meaningful. We do also assume the reader is familiar with vector calculus and linear algebra. We shall use the terminology “first-order, nonlinear differential form in the metric” to indicate an expression that is nonlinear in the indicated quantity and contains derivatives up through the stated order.