Light-like Signals in General relativity and Cosmology

Abstract

The modelling of light-like signals in General Relativity taking the form of impulsive gravitational waves and light-like shells of matter is examined. Systematic deductions from the Bianchi identities are made. These are based upon Penrose's hierarchical classification of the geometry induced on the null hypersurface history of the surface by its imbedding in the space-times to the future and to the past of it. The signals are not confined to propagate in a vacuum and thus their interaction with matter (a burst of radiation propagating through a cosmic fluid, for example) is also studied. Results are accompanied by illustrative examples using cosmological models, vacuum space-times, the de sitter univers and Minkowskian space-time.

21 pages, latex, no figures

References in corpus (2)

• Some Physical Consequences of Abrupt Changes in the Multipole Moments of a Gravitating Body
• Implications of Spontaneous Glitches in the Mass and Angular Momentum in Kerr Space-Time

Cited by in corpus (14)

• A 3+1 perspective on null hypersurfaces and isolated horizons
• Avoiding singularities in Lorentzian-Euclidean black holes: the role of atemporality
• Impulsive waves in the Nariai universe
• Exact impulsive gravitational waves in spacetimes of constant curvature
• Equations for general shells
• Junction conditions in scalar-tensor theories
• The Aichelburg-Sexl Boost of Domain-Walls and Cosmic Strings
• Transition to light-like trajectories in thin shell dynamics
• Energy conditions for non-timelike thin shells
• Bursts of Radiation and Recoil Effects in Electromagnetism and Gravitation
• Matching LTB and FRW spacetimes through a null hypersurface
• Peeling properties of lightlike signals in General Relativity
• Collapsing Layers on Schwarzschild-Lemaitre Geodesics
• Braking--Radiation: An Energy Source for a Relativistic Fireball