Raychaudhuri equation in spacetimes with torsion

Abstract

Given a spacetime with nonvanishing torsion, we discuss the equation for the evolution of the separation vector between infinitesimally close curves in a congruence. We show that the presence of a torsion field leads, in general, to tangent and orthogonal effects on the congruence; in particular, the presence of a completely generic torsion field contributes to a relative acceleration between test particles. We derive, for the first time in the literature, the Raychaudhuri equation for a congruence of timelike and null curves in a spacetime with the most generic torsion field.

8 pages

References in corpus (6)

• Metric-affine f(R) theories of gravity
• The Raychaudhuri equations: a brief review
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• The dynamics of generalized Palatini Theories of Gravity
• How does light move in a generic metric-affine background?
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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Spacetime thermodynamics in the presence of torsion
• Metric-Affine Gravity and Cosmology/Aspects of Torsion and non-Metricity in Gravity Theories
• Sachs' free data in real connection variables
• Symmetry breaking and lattice kirigami: finite temperature effects
• Raychaudhuri equations and gravitational collapse in Einstein-Cartan theory
• Relativistic cosmology and intrinsic spin of matter: Results and theorems in Einstein-Cartan theory
• Revisiting wormhole energy conditions in Riemann-Cartan spacetimes and under Weyl transformations