Solving GR:Tetrad Problem in Schwarzschild Spacetime

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on deriving the tetrad and dual tetrad for a specific radial geodesic in Schwarzschild spacetime, as outlined by E. Poisson in his work on Fermi coordinates. The four-velocity is defined as U^\mu= \left( \frac{r}{r-2M}, \sqrt{\frac{2M}{r}},0,0 \right), and the basis vectors are calculated to satisfy the orthonormality condition. However, the equation g^{\mu\nu}=-U^\mu U^\nu + \delta^{ab}e^\mu_a e^\nu_b is not satisfied, indicating a potential misunderstanding or miscalculation in the derivation process. The final metric transformation leads to the Schwarzschild metric in Gull-Painleve coordinates.

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  • Understanding of Schwarzschild spacetime and its metrics
  • Familiarity with tetrads and dual tetrads in general relativity
  • Knowledge of Fermi coordinates and their applications
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Homework Statement



I'm trying to find the tetrad and dual tetrad described by E.Poisson here,
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2004-6
in the section on Fermi coordinates 3.2.2 ( equations 113, 114, 115), for a specific radial geodesic in the Schwarzschild spacetime.

Homework Equations



The geodesic is given by the four-velocity
[tex]U^\mu= \left( \frac{r}{r-2M}, \sqrt{\frac{2M}{r}},0,0 \right)[/tex]
[tex]U_\mu= \left( -1, \frac{r}{r-2M} \sqrt{\frac{2M}{r}},0,0 \right)[/tex]


The Attempt at a Solution



The tetrad is [itex]U^{\bar{\mu}},e^{\bar{\mu}}_a[/itex] where the tetrad index 'a' runs from 1 to 3. I take this to mean that the time-like basis vector is just [itex]U^\mu[/itex]

[tex]\vec{e}_0= \frac{r}{r-2M}\partial_t+\sqrt{\frac{2M}{r}}\partial_r[/tex]

and in order to satisfy [itex]g_{\mu\nu}e^{\mu}_a e^{\nu}_b=\delta_{ab}[/itex] I calculated the other basis vectors,

[tex]\vec{e}_1= \frac{\sqrt{2Mr}}{r-2M}\partial_t+\partial_r,\ \ \vec{e}_2=\partial_{\theta}/r,\ \ \ \vec{e}_3=\partial_{\phi}/(r\sin(\theta))[/tex]

The orthonormality condition is satisfied by these basis vectors, and [itex]U^\mu[/itex] is a normalised tangent vector, but it comes apart because this equation (115)

[tex]g^{\mu\nu}=-U^\mu U^\nu + \delta^{ab}e^\mu_a e^\nu_b[/tex] is not satisfied.

What I get doesn't look like the inverse of any form of the Schwarzschild metric I know.

[tex] \left[ \begin{array}{cccc}<br /> -\frac{{r}^{2}}{{\left( 2\,M-r\right) }^{2}} & \frac{\sqrt{2}\,\sqrt{r}\,\sqrt{M}}{2\,M-r} & 0 & 0\\\<br /> \frac{\sqrt{2}\,\sqrt{r}\,\sqrt{M}}{2\,M-r} & -\frac{2\,M-r}{r} & 0 & 0\\\<br /> 0 & 0 & \frac{1}{{r}^{2}} & 0\\\<br /> 0 & 0 & 0 & \frac{1}{{r}^{2}\,{sin\left( \theta\right) }^{2}}<br /> \end{array} \right][/tex]

although the spatial parts are correct. I don't think I've made a calculation error, but maybe misunderstood something ? Any help would be much appreciated.
 
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The metric from the inverse above is

[tex] \left[ \begin{array}{cccc}<br /> <br /> \frac{{\left( 2\,M-r\right) }^{3}}{{r}^{3}} & \sqrt{ \frac{2M}{r} }\left( \frac{2M-r}{r} \right)<br /> & 0 & 0\\\<br /> \sqrt{ \frac{2M}{r} }\left( \frac{2M-r}{r} \right)<br /> & 1 & 0 & 0\\\<br /> 0 & 0 & {r}^{2} & 0\\\<br /> 0 & 0 & 0 & {r}^{2}\,{sin\left( \theta\right) }^{2}<br /> \end{array} \right][/tex]

Which, with the transformation

[tex]dT=(1-2M/r)dt[/tex]

is the Schwarzschild metric in Gull-Painleve coords :redface:. I don't know why I didn't see that straight away ...
 
Last edited:

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