arXiv subjects

Jiri Podolsky

Publications and source records attributed to Jiri Podolsky.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Kundt spacetimes in the Gauss-Bonnet Gravity

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 Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet field equations. The conditions for the metrics to be of various algebraic types are also studied.

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arXiv2017

Yet another family of diagonal metrics for de Sitter and anti-de Sitter spacetimes

In this work we present and analyze a new class of coordinate representations of de Sitter and anti-de Sitter spacetimes for which the metrics are diagonal and (typically) static and axially symmetric. Contrary to the well-known forms of these fundamental geometries, that usually correspond to a 1+3 foliation with the 3-space of a constant spatial curvature, the new metrics are adapted to a 2+2 foliation, and are warped products of two 2-spaces of constant curvature. This new class of (anti-)de Sitter metrics depends on the value of cosmological constant Lambda and two discrete parameters +1,0,-1 related to the curvature of the 2-spaces. The class admits 3 distinct subcases for Lambda>0 and 8 subcases for Lambda<0. We systematically study all these possibilities. In particular, we explicitly present the corresponding parametrizations of the (anti-)de Sitter hyperboloid, visualize the coordinate lines and surfaces within the global conformal cylinder, investigate their mutual relations, present some closely related forms of the metrics, and give transformations to standard de Sitter and anti-de Sitter metrics. Using these results, we also provide a physical interpretation of B-metrics as exact gravitational fields of a tachyon.

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arXiv2017

Penrose junction conditions extended: impulsive waves with gyratons

We generalize the classical junction conditions for constructing impulsive gravitational waves by the Penrose "cut and paste" method. Specifically, we study nonexpanding impulses which propagate in spaces of constant curvature with any value of the cosmological constant (that is Minkowski, de Sitter, or anti-de Sitter universes) when additional off-diagonal metric components are present. Such components encode a possible angular momentum of the ultra-relativistic source of the impulsive wave - the so called gyraton. We explicitly derive and analyze a specific transformation that relates the distributional form of the metric to a new form which is (Lipschitz) continuous. Such a transformation automatically implies an extended version of the Penrose junction conditions. It turns out that the conditions for identifying points of the background spacetime across the impulse are the same as in the original Penrose "cut and paste" construction, but their derivatives now directly represent the influence of the gyraton on the axial motion of test particles. Our results apply both for vacuum and nonvacuum solutions of Einstein's field equations, and can also be extended to other theories of gravity.

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arXiv2017

Exact solutions to quadratic gravity

Since all Einstein spacetimes are vacuum solutions to quadratic gravity in four dimensions, in this paper we study various aspects of non-Einstein vacuum solutions to this theory. Most such known solutions are of traceless Ricci and Petrov type N with a constant Ricci scalar. Thus we assume the Ricci scalar to be constant which leads to a substantial simplification of the field equations. We prove that a vacuum solution to quadratic gravity with traceless Ricci tensor of type N and aligned Weyl tensor of any Petrov type is necessarily a Kundt spacetime. This will considerably simplify the search for new non-Einstein solutions. Similarly, a vacuum solution to quadratic gravity with traceless Ricci type III and aligned Weyl tensor of Petrov type II or more special is again necessarily a Kundt spacetime. Then we study the general role of conformal transformations in constructing vacuum solutions to quadratic gravity. We find that such solutions can be obtained by solving one non-linear partial differential equation for a conformal factor on any Einstein spacetime or, more generally, on any background with vanishing Bach tensor. In particular, we show that all geometries conformal to Kundt are either Kundt or Robinson-Trautman, and we provide some explicit Kundt and Robinson-Trautman solutions to quadratic gravity by solving the above mentioned equation on certain Kundt backgrounds.

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arXiv2016

The global uniqueness and $C^1$-regularity of geodesics in expanding impulsive gravitational waves

We study geodesics in the complete family of expanding impulsive gravitational waves propagating in spaces of constant curvature, that is Minkowski, de Sitter and anti-de Sitter universes. Employing the continuous form of the metric we rigorously prove existence and global uniqueness of continuously differentiable geodesics (in the sense of Filippov) and study their interaction with the impulsive wave. Thereby we justify the "$C^1$-matching procedure" used in the literature to derive their explicit form.

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arXiv2016

Algebraic classification of Robinson-Trautman spacetimes

We consider a general class of four-dimensional geometries admitting a null vector field that has no twist and no shear but has an arbitrary expansion. We explicitly present the Petrov classification of such Robinson-Trautman (and Kundt) gravitational fields, based on the algebraic properties of the Weyl tensor. In particular, we determine all algebraically special subcases when the optically privileged null vector field is a multiple principal null direction (PND), as well as all the cases when it remains a single PND. No field equations are a priori applied, so that our classification scheme can be used in any metric theory of gravity in four dimensions. In the classic Einstein theory this reproduces previous results for vacuum spacetimes, possibly with a cosmological constant, pure radiation and electromagnetic field, but can be applied to an arbitrary matter content. As non-trivial explicit examples we investigate specific algebraic properties of the Robinson-Trautman spacetimes with a free scalar field, and also black hole spacetimes in the pure Einstein-Weyl gravity.

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arXiv2016

Higher dimensional Robinson-Trautman spacetimes sourced by p-forms: static and radiating black holes

We summarize results about Robinson-Trautman spacetimes in the presence of an aligned $p$-form Maxwell field and an arbitrary cosmological constant in $n\ge 4$ dimensions. While in odd dimensions the solutions reduce to static black holes dressed with an electric and a magnetic field (with an Einstein space horizon), in even dimensions $2p=n$ they may also describe black holes gaining (or losing) mass by receiving (or emitting) electromagnetic radiation. The Weyl type of the spacetimes is also briefly discussed in all the possible cases.

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arXiv2015

Static and radiating p-form black holes in the higher dimensional Robinson-Trautman class

We study Robinson-Trautman spacetimes in the presence of an aligned p-form Maxwell field and an arbitrary cosmological constant in n>=4 dimensions. As it turns out, the character of these exact solutions depends significantly on the (relative) value of n and p. In odd dimensions the solutions reduce to static black holes dressed by an electric and a magnetic field and whose horizon is an Einstein space (further constrained by the Einstein-Maxwell equations) -- both the Weyl and Maxwell type are D. Even dimensions, however, open up more possibilities. In particular, when 2p=n there exist non-static solutions describing black holes acquiring (or losing) mass by receiving (or emitting) electromagnetic radiation. In this case the Weyl type is II (D) and the Maxwell type can be II (D) or N. Conditions under which the Maxwell field is self-dual (for odd p) are also discussed, and a few explicit examples presented. Finally, the case p=1 is special in all dimensions and leads to static metrics with a non-Einstein transverse space.

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arXiv2015

The global existence, uniqueness and C^1-regularity of geodesics in nonexpanding impulsive gravitational waves

We study geodesics in the complete family of nonexpanding impulsive gravitational waves propagating in spaces of constant curvature, that is Minkowski, de Sitter and anti-de Sitter universes. Employing the continuous form of the metric we prove existence and uniqueness of continuously differentiable geodesics (in the sense of Filippov) and use a C^1-matching procedure to explicitly derive their form.

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arXiv2014

Gyratonic pp-waves and their impulsive limit

We investigate a class of gravitational pp-waves which represent the exterior vacuum field of spinning particles moving with the speed of light. Such exact spacetimes are described by the original Brinkmann form of the pp-wave metric including the often neglected off-diagonal terms. We put emphasis on a clear physical and geometrical interpretation of these off-diagonal metric components. We explicitly analyze several new properties of these spacetimes associated with the spinning character of the source, such as rotational dragging of frames, geodesic deviation, impulsive limits and the corresponding behavior of geodesics.

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arXiv2014

Algebraic structure of Robinson-Trautman and Kundt geometries in arbitrary dimension

We investigate the Weyl tensor algebraic structure of a fully general family of D-dimensional geometries that admit a non-twisting and shear-free null vector field k. From the coordinate components of the curvature tensor we explicitly derive all Weyl scalars of various boost weights. This enables us to give a complete algebraic classification of the metrics in the case when the optically privileged null direction k is a (multiple) Weyl aligned null direction (WAND). No field equations are applied, so that the results are valid not only in Einstein's gravity, including its extension to higher dimensions, but also in any metric gravitation theory that admits non-twisting and shear-free spacetimes. We prove that all such geometries are of type I(b), or more special, and we derive surprisingly simple necessary and sufficient conditions under which k is a double, triple or quadruple WAND. All possible algebraically special types, including the refinement to subtypes, are thus identified, namely II(a), II(b), II(c), II(d), III(a), III(b), N, O, IIi, IIIi, D, D(a), D(b), D(c), D(d), and their combinations. Some conditions are identically satisfied in four dimensions. We discuss both important subclasses, namely the Kundt family of geometries with the vanishing expansion (Theta=0) and the Robinson-Trautman family (Theta\not=0, and in particular Theta=1/r). Finally, we apply Einstein's field equations and obtain a classification of all Robinson-Trautman vacuum spacetimes. This reveals fundamental algebraic differences in the D>4 and D=4 cases, namely that in higher dimensions there only exist such spacetimes of types D(a)=D(abd), D(c)=D(bcd) and O.

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arXiv2013

Physical interpretation of Kundt spacetimes using geodesic deviation

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.

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arXiv2013

Explicit algebraic classification of Kundt geometries in any dimension

We present an algebraic classification, based on the null alignment properties of the Weyl tensor, of the general Kundt class of spacetimes in arbitrary dimension for which the non-expanding, non-twisting, shear-free null direction \boldk is a (multiple) Weyl aligned null direction (WAND). No field equations are used, so that the results apply not only to Einstein's gravity and its direct extension to higher dimensions, but also to any metric theory of gravity which admits the Kundt spacetimes. By an explicit evaluation of the Weyl tensor in a natural null frame we demonstrate that all Kundt geometries are of type I(b) or more special, and we derive simple necessary and sufficient conditions under which \boldk becomes a double, triple or quadruple WAND. All possible algebraically special types, including the refinement to subtypes, are identified, namely II(a), II(b), II(c), II(d), III(a), III(b), N, O, II_i, III_i, D(a), D(b), D(c) and D(d). The corresponding conditions are surprisingly clear and expressed in an invariant geometric form. Some of them are always satisfied in four dimensions. To illustrate our classification scheme, we apply it to the most important subfamilies of the Kundt class, namely the pp-waves, the VSI spacetimes, and generalization of the Bertotti-Robinson, Nariai, and Plebanski-Hacyan direct-product spacetimes of any dimension.

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arXiv2012

Geodesic deviation in Kundt spacetimes of any dimension

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 exact pp-waves, gyratons, and VSI spacetimes. This analysis helps us to clarify the geometrical and physical interpretation of the Kundt class of nonexpanding, nontwisting and shearfree geometries.

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arXiv2012

Interpreting spacetimes of any dimension using geodesic deviation

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 specific matter content of the universe. In particular, exact gravitational waves in Einstein's theory always exhibit themselves via purely transverse effects with D(D-3)/2 independent polarization states. To illustrate the utility of this approach we study the family of pp-wave spacetimes in higher dimensions and discuss specific measurable effects on a detector located in four spacetime dimensions. For example, the corresponding deformations caused by a generic higher-dimensional gravitational waves observed in such physical subspace, need not be tracefree.

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arXiv2012

Higher-dimensional Kundt waves and gyratons

We present and analyze exact solutions of the Einstein-Maxwell equations in higher dimensions which form a large subclass of the Kundt family of spacetimes. We assume that the cosmological constant may be nonvanishing, and the matter consists of a background aligned electromagnetic field and an additional pure radiation (gyratonic) field with a spin. We show that the field equations reduce to a set of linear equations on the transverse space which can be solved exactly and expressed in terms of the Green functions. We thus find explicit exact gyratonic gravitational and electromagnetic fields created by a radiation beam of null matter with arbitrary profiles of energy density and angular momenta. In the absence of the gyratonic matter we obtain pure nonexpanding higher-dimensional gravitational waves. In particular, we investigate gyratons and waves propagating on backgrounds which are a direct-product of 2-spaces of constant curvature. Such type D or 0 background spacetimes generalize 4-dimensional Nariai, anti-Nariai and Plebanski-Hacyan universes, and conformally flat Bertotti-Robinson and Minkowski spaces. These spacetimes belong to a wider class of spaces which admit the Kahler structure related to the background magnetic field. The obtained wave and gyraton solutions are also members of the recently discussed class of spacetimes with constant scalar invariants (CSI) of the curvature tensor.

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arXiv2011

Photon rockets moving arbitrarily in any dimension

A family of explicit exact solutions of Einstein's equations in four and higher dimensions is studied which describes photon rockets accelerating due to an anisotropic emission of photons. It is possible to prescribe an arbitrary motion, so that the acceleration of the rocket need not be uniform - both its magnitude and direction may vary with time. Except at location of the point-like rocket the spacetimes have no curvature singularities, and topological defects like cosmic strings are also absent. Any value of a cosmological constant is allowed. We investigate some particular examples of motion, namely a straight flight and a circular trajectory, and we derive the corresponding radiation patterns and the mass loss of the rockets. We also demonstrate the absence of "gravitational aberration" in such spacetimes. This interesting member of the higher-dimensional Robinson-Trautman class of pure radiation spacetimes of algebraic type D generalises the class of Kinnersley's solutions that has long been known in four-dimensional general relativity.

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arXiv2010

Cylindrically and toroidally symmetric solutions with a cosmological constant

Cylindrical-like coordinates for constant-curvature 3-spaces are introduced and discussed. This helps to clarify the geometrical properties, the coordinate ranges and the meaning of free parameters in the static vacuum solution of Linet and Tian. In particular, when the cosmological constant is positive, the spacetimes have toroidal symmetry. One of the two curvature singularities can be removed by matching the Linet-Tian vacuum solution across a toroidal surface to a corresponding region of the dust-filled Einstein static universe. Some other properties and limiting cases of these space-times are also described, together with their generalisation to higher dimensions.

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