The Nonlinear Essence of Gravitational Waves

Abstract

A critical review of gravitational wave theory is made. It is pointed out that the usual linear approach to the gravitational wave theory is neither conceptually consistent nor mathematically justified. Relying upon that analysis it is then argued that -- analogously to a Yang-Mills propagating field, which must be nonlinear to carry its gauge charge -- a gravitational wave must necessarily be nonlinear to transport its own charge -- that is, energy-momentum.

Plain Latex, 13 pages, no figures. Accepted for publication in Foundations of Physiscs

References in corpus (8)

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• Pseudotensors and quasilocal energy-momentum
• Naked singularities and Seifert's conjecture
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Cited by in corpus (6)

• A brief history of gravitational wave research
• Nonlinear Gravitational Waves: Their Form and Effects
• On the energy transported by exact plane gravitational-wave solutions
• Gravitomagnetism in teleparallel gravity
• Spin-2 fields and helicity
• Breaking of parallelograms in presence of torsion: an equivalent alternative approach to detect gravitational waves