We investigate the fully general class of non-expanding, non-twisting and shear-free D-dimensional geometries using the invariant form of geodesic deviation equation which describes the relative motion of free test particles. We show that the local effect of such gravitational fields on the particles basically consists of isotropic motion caused by the cosmological constant Lambda, Newtonian-type tidal deformations typical for spacetimes of algebraic type D or II, longitudinal motion characteristic for spacetimes of type III, and type N purely transverse effects of exact gravitational waves with D(D-3)/2 polarizations. We explicitly discuss the canonical forms of the geodesic deviation motion in all algebraically special subtypes of the Kundt family for which the optically privileged direction is a multiple Weyl aligned null direction (WAND), namely D(a), D(b), D(c), D(d), III(a), III(b), IIIi, IIi, II(a), II(b), II(c) and II(d). We demonstrate that the key invariant quantities determining these algebraic types and subtypes also directly determine the specific local motion of test particles, and are thus measurable by gravitational detectors. As an example, we analyze an interesting class of type N or II gravitational waves which propagate on backgrounds of type O or D, including Minkowski, Bertotti-Robinson, Nariai and Plebanski-Hacyan universes.
Using the invariant form of the equation of geodesic deviation, which describes relative motion of free test particles, we investigate a general family of D-dimensional Kundt spacetimes. We demonstrate that local influence of the gravitational field can be naturally decomposed into Newton-type tidal effects typical for type II spacetimes, longitudinal deformations mainly present in spacetimes of algebraic type III, and type N purely transverse effects corresponding to gravitational waves with D(D-3)/2 independent polarization states. We explicitly study the most important examples, namely exac…
We investigate geodesics in specific Kundt type N (or conformally flat) solutions to Einstein's equations. Components of the curvature tensor in parallelly transported tetrads are then explicitly evaluated and analyzed. This elucidates some interesting global properties of the spacetimes, such as an inherent rotation of the wave-propagation direction, or the character of singularities. In particular, we demonstrate that the characteristic envelope singularity of the rotated wave-fronts is a (non-scalar) curvature singularity, although all scalar invariants of the Riemann tensor vanish there.
Memory effects are studied in the simplest scalar-tensor theory, the Brans--Dicke (BD) theory. To this end, we introduce, in BD theory, novel Kundt spacetimes (without and with gyratonic terms), which serve as backgrounds for the ensuing analysis on memory. The BD parameter $ω$ and the scalar field ($ϕ$) profile, expectedly, distinguishes between different solutions. Choosing specific localised forms for the free metric functions $H'(u)$ (related to the wave profile) and $J(u)$ (the gyraton) we obtain displacement memory effects using both geodesics and geodesic deviation. An interesting and e…
We consider geodesics motion in a particular Kundt type III spacetime in which Einstein-Yang-Mills equations admit solutions. On a particular surface as constraint we project the geodesics into the (x,y) plane and treat the problem as a 2-dimensional one. Our numerical study shows that chaotic behavior emerges under reasonable conditions.
We present all Petrov type D pure radiation space-times, with or without cosmological constant, with a shear-free, non-diverging geodesic principal null congruence.
Memory effects in the exact Kundt wave spacetimes are shown to arise in the behaviour of geodesics in such spacetimes. The types of Kundt spacetimes we consider here are direct products of the form $H^2\times M(1,1)$ and $S^2\times M(1,1)$. Both geometries have constant scalar curvature. We consider a scenario in which initial velocities of the transverse geodesic coordinates are set to zero (before the arrival of the pulse) in a spacetime with non-vanishing background curvature. We look for changes in the separation between pairs of geodesics caused by the pulse. Any relative change observed …
The Gauss-Bonnet gravity is a special case of so-called Quadratic Gravity, which is an extension of Einstein's theory with additional terms in action that are quadratic combinations of the Riemann tensor and its contractions. These corrections are needed, for example, in perturbative quantum gravity. We consider the family of Kundt spacetimes, which is defined in a purely geometrical way by admitting a shear-free, twist-free and expansion-free null geodesic congruence. In particular, we focus on the Kundt solutions without gyratonic terms, and we investigate the constraints imposed by the Eins…
We demonstrate that geodesics in exact vacuum Kundt gravitational waves may exhibit a highly complicated behaviour. In fact, as in the previously studied case of non-homogeneous pp-waves, for specific choices of the structural function the motion appears to be genuinely chaotic. This fact is demonstrated by the fractal method.
We systematically investigate the complete class of vacuum solutions in the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity theory which belong to the Kundt family of non-expanding, shear-free and twist-free geometries (without gyratonic matter terms) in any dimension. The field equations are explicitly derived and simplified, and their solutions classified into three distinct subfamilies. Algebraic structures of the Weyl and Ricci curvature tensors are determined. The corresponding curvature scalars directly enter the invariant form of equation of geodesic deviation, enabling us to understand the specific loca…
We obtain new solutions of topologically massive gravity. We find the general Kundt solutions, which in three dimensions are spacetimes admitting an expansion-free null geodesic congruence. The solutions are generically of algebraic type II, but special cases are types III, N or D. Those of type D are the known spacelike-squashed AdS_3 solutions, and of type N are the known AdS pp-waves or new solutions. Those of types II and III are the first known solutions of these algebraic types. We present explicitly the Kundt solutions that are CSI spacetimes, for which all scalar polynomial curvature i…
We explore memory effects for novel Kundt wave spacetimes in the recently proposed Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld (EiBI) theory of gravity. First, we construct new, exact Kundt wave geometries in this theory for two different matter sources--(i) generic matter designed to satisfy the field equations as well as energy conditions, and (ii) electromagnetic field. For both sources we find that the EiBI theory parameter $κ$ couples only with the nonradiative part of the physical metric solution. Thereafter, we solve the geodesic and the geodesic deviation equations, in the above spacetimes with the…
We construct two distinct classes of exact type III solutions of the D=4 Einstein-Yang-Mills system. The solutions are embeddings of the non-abelian plane waves in spacetimes in Kundt's class. Reduction of the solutions to type N leads to generalized $pp$ and Kundt waves. The geodesic equations are briefly discussed.
We investigate a general metric of the Kundt class of spacetimes in higher dimensions. Geometrically, it admits a non-twisting, non-shearing and non-expanding geodesic null congruence. We calculate all components of the curvature and Ricci tensors, without assuming any specific matter content, and discuss algebraic types and main geometric constraints imposed by general Einstein's field equations. We explicitly derive Einstein-Maxwell equations, including an arbitrary cosmological constant, in the case of vacuum or possibly an aligned electromagnetic field. Finally, we introduce canonical subc…
Kundt spacetimes are of great importance in general relativity in 4 dimensions and have a number of topical applications in higher dimensions in the context of string theory. The degenerate Kundt spacetimes have many special and unique mathematical properties, including their invariant curvature structure and their holonomy structure. We provide a rigorous geometrical kinematical definition of the general Kundt spacetime in 4 dimensions; essentially a Kundt spacetime is defined as one admitting a null vector that is geodesic, expansion-free, shear-free and twist-free. A Kundt spacetime is said…
The Kundt conjecture states that a Lorentzian manifold of arbitrary dimension which is not characterized by its scalar polynomial curvature invariants (SPIs) allows for a non-twisting, non-shearing and non-expanding (in short, Kundt) null congruence of geodesics. The conjecture has been proven for dimensions 3 and 4. A necessary condition for a spacetime not to be characterized by SPIs is that all covariant derivatives of the Riemann tensor are of aligned type II or more special in the null alignment classification. In arbitrary dimensions, we prove that this property indeed requires the prese…
We present the complete family of space-times with a non-expanding, shear-free, twist-free, geodesic principal null congruence (Kundt waves) that are of algebraic type III and for which the cosmological constant ($Λ_c$) is non-zero. The possible presence of an aligned pure radiation field is also assumed. These space-times generalise the known vacuum solutions of type N with arbitrary $Λ_c$ and type III with $Λ_c=0$. It is shown that there are two, one and three distinct classes of solutions when $Λ_c$ is respectively zero, positive and negative. The wave surfaces are plane, spherical or hyper…
Static spherically symmetric Kundt vacuum solutions of higher-derivative gravities
Institute of Theoretical Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University（查理大学数学物理学院理论物理研究所）；Institute of Mathematics of the Czech Academy of Sciences（捷克科学院数学研究所）
We consider restrictions placed by geodesic completeness on spacetimes possessing a null parallel vector field, the so-called Brinkmann spacetimes. This class of spacetimes includes important idealized gravitational wave models in General Relativity, namely the plane-fronted waves with parallel rays, or pp-waves, which in turn have been intensely and fruitfully studied in the mathematical and physical literatures for over half a century. More concretely, we prove a restricted version of a conjectural analogue for Brinkmann spacetimes of a rigidity result obtained by M.T. Anderson for stationar…
Under a weak assumption of the existence of a geodesic null congruence, we present the general solution of the Einstein field equations in three dimensions with any value of the cosmological constant, admitting an aligned null matter field, and also gyratons (a matter field in the form of a null dust with an additional internal spin). The general local solution consists of the expanding Robinson-Trautman class and the non-expanding Kundt class. The gyratonic solutions reduce to spacetimes with a pure radiation matter field when the spin is set to zero. Without matter fields, we obtain new form…
We study in detail the equations of the geodesic deviation in multidimensional theories of Kaluza-Klein type. We show that their 4-dimensional space-time projections are identical with the equations obtained by direct variation of the usual geodesic equation in the presence of the Lorentz force, provided that the fifth component of the deviation vector satisfies an extra constraint derived here.
We study the timelike geodesics and geodesic deviation for a two-dimensional stringy blackhole spacetime in Schwarzschild gauge. We have analyzed the properties of effective potential along with the structure of the possible orbits for test particles with different settings of blackhole parameters. The exactly solvable geodesic deviation equation is used to obtain corresponding deviation vector. The nature of deviation and tidal force is also examined in view of the behavior of corresponding deviation vector.The results are also compared with an another two-dimensional stringy blackhole spacet…
Timelike geodesics on a hyperplane orthogonal to the symmetry axis of the Gödel spacetime appear to be elliptic-like if standard coordinates naturally adapted to the cylindrical symmetry are used. The orbit can then be suitably described through an eccentricity-semi-latus rectum parametrization, familiar from the Newtonian dynamics of a two-body system. However, changing coordinates such planar geodesics all become explicitly circular, as exhibited by Kundt's form of the Gödel metric. We derive here a one-to-one correspondence between the constants of the motion along these geodesics as well a…
A quantum mechanical picture, relating accelerated geodesic deviation to creation of massive particles via quantum tunneling in curved background spacetimes, is presented. The effect is analogous to pair production by an electric field and leads naturally to production of massive particles in de Sitter and superluminal FRW spacetimes. The probability of particle production in de Sitter space per unit volume and time is computed in a leading semiclassical approximation and shown to coincide with the previously obtained expression.
By using the higher-order geodesic deviation equations for charged particles, we apply the method described by Kerner et.al. to calculate the perihelion advance and trajectory of charged test particles in the Riessner-Nordstrom spacetime. The effect of charge on the perihelion advance is studied and compared the results with those obtained earlier via the perturbation method. The advantage of this approximation method is to provide a way to calculate the perihelion advance and orbit of planets in the vicinity of massive and compact objects without considering Newtonian and post-Newtonian appro…
The tidal effects generated by a nonlinear gravitational wave are investigated in double-null v - u coordinates, as an exact solution of Einstein's field equations. The components $ξ^{v}$ and $ξ^{u}$ of the separation vector behave as in flat space but the transversal components $ξ^{x}$ and $ξ^{y}$ depend nonlinearly on $v$ through the Bessel and Neumann functions, far from the null surface $v = 0$. We show that the same results are obtained by means of the tetrad formalism.
We investigate the induced geodesic deviation equations in the brane world models, in which all the matter forces except gravity are confined on the 3-brane. Also, the Newtonian limit of induced geodesic deviation equation is studied. We show that in the first Randall-Sundrum model the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization rule is as a result of consistency between the geodesic and geodesic deviation equations. This indicates that the path of test particle is made up of integral multiples of a fundamental Compton-type unit of length $h/mc$.
There exists a two parameter action, the variation of which produces both the geodesic equation and the geodesic deviation equation. In this paper it is shown that this action can be quantized by the canonical method, resulting in equations which generalize the Klein-Gordon equation. The resulting equations might have applications, and also show that entirely unexpected systems can be quantized. The possible applications of quantized geodesic deviation are to: i)the spreading wave packet in quantum theory, ii)and also to the one particle to many particle problem in second quantized quantum fie…
We introduce an exactly solvable example of timelike geodesic motion and geodesic deviation in the background geometry of a well-known two-dimensional black hole spacetime. The effective potential for geodesic motion turns out to be either a harmonic oscillator or an inverted harmonic oscillator or a linear function of the spatial variable, corresponding to the three different domains of a constant of the motion. The geodesic deviation equation also is exactly solvable. The corresponding deviation vector is obtained and the nature of the deviation is briefly discussed by highlighting a specifi…
We review a simple but instructive application of the formalism of covariant bitensors, to use a deviation vector field along a fiducial geodesic to describe a neighboring worldline, in an exact and manifestly covariant manner, via the exponential map. Requiring the neighboring worldline to be a geodesic leads to the usual linear geodesic deviation equation for the deviation vector, plus corrections at higher order in the deviation and relative velocity. We show how these corrections can be efficiently computed to arbitrary orders via covariant bitensor expansions, deriving a form of the geode…
We derive the wave equation obeyed by electromagnetic fields in curved spacetime. We find that there are Riemann and Ricci curvature coupling terms to the photon polarisation which result in a polarisation dependent deviation of the photon trajectories from null geodesics. Photons are found to have an effective mass in an external gravitational field and their velocity in a local inertial frame is in general less than $c$. The effective photon mass in the Schwarzschild metric is $m_γ= ( 2GM/r^3 )^{1/2}$ and near the horizon it is larger than the Hawking temperature of the blackhole. Our result…
In a suitably chosen essentially unique frame tied to a given observer in a general spacetime, the equation of geodesic deviation can be decomposed into a sum of terms describing specific effects: isotropic (background) motions associated with the cosmological constant, transverse motions corresponding to the effects of gravitational waves, longitudinal motions, and Coulomb-type effects. Conditions under which the frame is parallelly transported along a geodesic are discussed. Suitable coordinates are introduced and an explicit coordinate form of the frame is determined for spacetimes admittin…
We present a general method which can be used for geometrical and physical interpretation of an arbitrary spacetime in four or any higher number of dimensions. It is based on the systematic analysis of relative motion of free test particles. We demonstrate that local effect of the gravitational field on particles, as described by equation of geodesic deviation with respect to a natural orthonormal frame, can always be decomposed into a canonical set of transverse, longitudinal and Newton-Coulomb-type components, isotropic influence of a cosmological constant, and contributions arising from spe…
The quantum fluctuations of the geodesic deviation equation in a flat background spacetime are discussed. We calculate the resulting mean squared fluctuations in the relative velocity and separation of test particles. The effect of these quantum fluctuations of the spacetime geometry is given in terms of the Riemann tensor correlation function. Three different sources of the Riemann tensor fluctuations are considered: a thermal bath of gravitons, gravitons in a squeezed state, and the graviton vacuum state.
An important aspect of General Relativity is to study properties of geodesics. A useful tool for describing geodesic behavior is the geodesic deviation equation. It allows to describe the tidal properties of gravitating objects through the curvature of spacetime. This article focuses on the study of the axially symmetric Taub-NUT metric. We study tidal effects in this metric using the geodesic deviation equation. Radial geodesics along the symmetry axis of spacetime are considered. We show that all spatial components of tidal forces always change sign under the event horizon. We find a solutio…
We study the geodesic deviation (GD) equation in a generalized version of the Sáez--Ballester (SB) theory in arbitrary dimensions. We first establish a general formalism and then restrict to particular cases, where (i) the matter-energy distribution is that of a perfect fluid, and (ii) the spacetime geometry is described by a vanishing Weyl tensor. Furthermore, we consider the spatially flat FLRW universe as the background geometry. Based on this setup, we compute the GD equation as well as the convergence condition associated with fundamental observers and past directed null vector fields. Mo…
The detection of gravitational waves based on the geodesic deviation equation is discussed. In particular, it is shown that the only non-vanishing components of the wave field in the conventional traceless-transverse gauge in linearized general relativity do not enter the geodesic deviation equation, and therefore, apparently, no effect is predicted by that equation in that specific gauge. The reason is traced back to the fact that the geodesic deviation equation is written in terms of a coordinate distance, which is not a directly measurable quantity. On the other hand, in the proper Lorentz …
The article generalizes the description of tidal forces to the case of geodesics with non-zero angular momentum in the metric of static spherically symmetric black holes. We show that the geodesic deviation equation can be diagonalized even with non-radial free motion of a test body in the gravitational field. We present expressions for the spatial components of the tidal force in a spherically symmetric metric. We also solve geodesic deviation equation in the Schwarzschild metric and demonstrate how the presence of angular momentum and its magnitude affect the solution.
The deviation of the path of a spinning particle from a circular geodesic in the Schwarzschild spacetime is studied by an extension of the idea of geodesic deviation. Within the Mathisson-Papapetrou-Dixon model and assuming the spin parameter to be sufficiently small so that it makes sense to linearize the equations of motion in the spin variables as well as in the geodesic deviation, the spin-curvature force adds an additional driving term to the second order system of linear ordinary differential equations satisfied by nearby geodesics. Choosing initial conditions for geodesic motion leads t…
The dynamics of extended spinning bodies in the Kerr spacetime is investigated in the pole-dipole particle approximation and under the assumption that the spin-curvature force only slightly deviates the particle from a geodesic path. The spin parameter is thus assumed to be very small and the back reaction on the spacetime geometry neglected. This approach naturally leads to solve the Mathisson-Papapetrou-Dixon equations linearized in the spin variables as well as in the deviation vector, with the same initial conditions as for geodesic motion. General deviations from generic geodesic motion a…
We consider an equation of the geodesic deviation appearing in the problem of gravitational wave detection in an environment of gravitons. We investigate a state-dependent graviton noise (as discussed in a recent paper of Parikh,Wilczek and Zahariade) from the point of view of the Feynman integral and stochastic differential equations. The evolution of the density matrix and the transition probability in an environment of gravitons is obtained. We express the time evolution by a solution of a stochastic geodesic deviation equation with a noise dependent on the quantum state of the gravitationa…
A novel approximation method in studying the perihelion precession and planetary orbits in general relativity is to use geodesic deviation equations of first and high-orders, proposed by Kerner et.al. Using higher-order geodesic deviation approach, we generalize the calculation of orbital precession and the elliptical trajectory of neutral test particles to Kerr$-$Newman space-times. One of the advantage of this method is that, for small eccentricities, one obtains trajectories of planets without using Newtonian and post-Newtonian approximations for arbitrary values of quantity ${G M}/{R c^2}$…
In this work, we show that it is possible to study the notion of geodesic deviation equation in $f(T)$ gravity, in spite of the fact that in teleparallel gravity there is no notion of geodesics, and the torsion is responsible for the appearance of gravitational interaction. In this regard, we obtain the GR equivalent equations for $f(T)$ gravity which are in the modified gravity form such as $f(R)$ gravity. Then, we obtain the GDE within the context of this modified gravity. In this way, the obtained geodesic deviation equation will correspond to the $f(T)$ gravity. Eventually, we extend the c…
The geodesic deviation equation (GDE) describes the tendency of objects to accelerate towards or away from each other due to spacetime curvature. The GDE assumes that nearby geodesics have a small rate of separation, which is formally treated as the same order in smallness as the separation itself. This assumption is discussed in various papers, but is typically not recognized in textbooks. Relaxing this assumption leads to the generalized geodesic deviation equation (GGDE). We demonstrate the distinction between the GDE and the GGDE by computing the relative acceleration between timelike geod…
We obtain the integral formulae for computing the tetrads and metric components in Riemann normal coordinates and Fermi coordinate system of an observer in arbitrary motion. Our approach admits essential enlarging the range of validity of these coordinates. The results obtained are applied to the geodesic deviation in the field of a weak plane gravitational wave and the computation of plane-wave metric in Fermi normal coordinates.
In the present paper we study the Geodesic Deviation Equation (GDE) in the modified $f(Q)$-gravity theories. The formulation of GDE in General Relativity in the case of the homogeneous and isotropic Friedman-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) spacetime is briefly discussed and then extended in modified $f(Q)$-gravity using its covariant counterpart. The generalised Mattig relation is obtained. Finally, an equivalent expression to the Dyer-Roeder equation in General Relativity in the case of $f(Q)$-gravity is presented.
Within the theory of General Relativity, we study the solution and range of applicability of the standard geodesic deviation equation in highly symmetric spacetimes. In the Schwarzschild spacetime, the solution is used to model satellite orbit constellations and their deviations around a spherically symmetric Earth model. We investigate the spatial shape and orbital elements of perturbations of circular reference curves. In particular, we reconsider the deviation equation in Newtonian gravity and then determine relativistic effects within the theory of General Relativity by comparison. The dev…
The geodesic deviation equation has been investigated in the framework of $f(T,\mathcal{T})$ gravity, where $T$ denotes the torsion and $\mathcal{T}$ is the trace of the energy-momentum tensor, respectively. The FRW metric is assumed and the geodesic deviation equation has been established following the General Relativity approach in the first hand and secondly, by a direct method using the modified Friedmann equations. Via fundamental observers and null vector fields with FRW background, we have generalized the Raychaudhuri equation and the Mattig relation in $f(T,\mathcal{T})$ gravity. Furth…
We study the derivation of the effective equation of motion for a pointlike particle in the framework of quantum gravity. Just like the geodesic motion of a classical particle is a consequence of classical field theory coupled to general relativity, we introduce the similar notion of an effective equation of motion, but starting from an abstract quantum gravity description. In the presence of entanglement between gravity and matter, quantum effects give rise to modifications of the geodesic trajectory, primarily as a consequence of the nonzero overlap between various coherent states of the gra…
Let $M$ be a smooth manifold and $\mathcal{S}$ a semi-spray defined on a sub-bundle $\mathcal{C}$ of the tangent bundle $TM$. In this work it is proved that the only non-trivial $k$-jet approximation to the exact geodesic deviation equation of $\mathcal{S}$, linear on the deviation functions and invariant under an specific class of local coordinate transformations is the Jacobi equation. However, if the linearity property on the dependence in the deviation functions is not imposed, then there are differential equations whose solutions admit $k$-jet approximations and are invariant under arbitr…
The Jacobi equation for geodesic deviation describes finite size effects due to the gravitational tidal forces. In this paper we show how one can integrate the Jacobi equation in any spacetime admitting completely integrable geodesics. Namely, by linearizing the geodesic equation and its conserved charges, we arrive at the invariant Wronskians for the Jacobi system that are linear in the `deviation momenta' and thus yield a system of first-order differential equations that can be integrated. The procedure is illustrated on an example of a rotating black hole spacetime described by the Kerr geo…
Geodesic deviation is the most basic manifestation of the influence of gravitational fields on matter. We investigate geodesic deviation within the framework of Regge calculus, and compare the results with the continuous formulation of general relativity on two different levels. We show that the continuum and simplicial descriptions coincide when the cumulative effect of the Regge contributions over an infinitesimal element of area is considered. This comparison provides a quantitative relation between the curvature of the continuous description and the deficit angles of Regge calculus. The re…
We study the time-like geodesic congruences, in the space-time geometry of a Schwarzschild black hole surrounded by quintessence. The nature of effective potential along with the structure of the possible orbits for test particles in view of the different values of quintessence parameter are analysed in detail. %wherever possible it is done analytically otherwise numerically. An increase in quintessence parameter is seen to set the particles from farther distance into motion around black hole. The effect of quintessence parameter is investigated analytically wherever possible otherwise we perf…
We write the equation of geodesic deviations in the spacetime of $pp$-waves in terms of the Newman-Penrose scalars and apply it to study gravitational waves in quadratic curvature gravity. We show that quadratic curvature gravity $pp$-waves can have a transverse helicity-0 polarization mode and two transverse helicity-2 general relativity-like wave polarizations. A concrete example is given in which we analyze the wave polarizations of an exact impulsive gravitational wave solution to quadratic curvature gravity.
