Calculate the Weyl and Ricci scalars for a given metric

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the Weyl and Ricci scalars for the Kerr metric using the grtensor-II package in Maple. Participants explore issues with the software and share alternative approaches for performing the calculations.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • The original poster (OP) expresses difficulty in calculating the Weyl and Ricci scalars for the Kerr metric using the grtensor-II package, noting that it works for the Schwarzschild metric but not for Kerr.
  • One participant offers to share a Mathematica notebook that can compute necessary components like Christoffel symbols and Ricci tensors, suggesting it may be useful for the OP.
  • Another participant suggests that the grtensor package has limitations with certain metrics, including Kerr, and asks for the Mathematica code to calculate the scalars.
  • A participant mentions their experience with the Schwarzschild metric and suggests that defining the Kerr metric in a Mathematica notebook should be straightforward.
  • There is confusion about the definition of the Weyl scalar, with one participant stating they are unfamiliar with it and another providing a link to a Wikipedia page for clarification.
  • Further clarification is provided regarding the Weyl scalar being a representation of the Weyl tensor as complex scalars, with uncertainty about the capabilities of symbolic math packages to handle this formalism.
  • A participant shares a potential method for calculating the Ricci scalar and mentions an option to calculate the square of the Weyl scalar, but expresses uncertainty about the correctness of the results.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best approach to calculate the Weyl and Ricci scalars for the Kerr metric, and there is uncertainty regarding the definitions and methods discussed.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations noted regarding the grtensor package's functionality with certain metrics, and participants express varying levels of familiarity with the mathematical concepts involved.

suresh chand
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hello dear,
I need to calculate the Weyl and Ricci scalars for a given metric. let's assume for a kerr metric. by using the grtensor-II package in maple i am not able to get the results. would anyone help me out. for ordinary metric like schwarzschild metric, However its not working for Kerr metric or metric having form like kerr metric. does anyone have any idea about this??
 
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Unfortunately I don't have maple (and also haven't ever used it). If it helps you, contact me, and I can send you a Mathematica notebook. I've just written a very simple code to evaluate all the stuff needed for a given metric (Christoffel symbols, Ricci Tensor, Einstein tensor, etc.).
 
actually there is a problem with grtensor package i think, it does work well for some metric, however, like kerr metric it doesn't. yes it would be really helpful if u can send me that code. have u done for Weyl Scalars and Ricci Scalar for kerr?? actually i have calculated (Christoffel symbols, Ricci Tensor, Einstein tensor, etc.) for the same metric, however, i am having trouble for Weyl & Ricci scalars.
Thanks.
suresh
 
I've never looked at the Kerr metric specifically. You find the Schwarzschild metric, where I used my simple code (just using the definitions of the objects by brute force Ricci calculus ;-)) here:

http://th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/~hees/cosmo-SS15/

There shouldn't be a problem to just define the Kerr metric in the first few lines and then let run the notebook through Mathemica.
 
suresh chand said:
the Weyl and Ricci scalars

I know what the Ricci scalar is, but what is the Weyl scalar? I'm not aware of any such thing.
 
PAllen said:
Perhaps the OP means this

Ah, ok. This is just a repackaging of the Weyl tensor as five complex scalars, i.e., ten real scalars. I don't know which, if any, symbolic math packages handle the Newman-Penrose formalism, which is what would be needed to handle this.
 
You just do something like this:

qload(kerr);
grcalc(Ricciscalar);
grdisplay(_);
graleter(_);

select simplification method 1;

grdisplay(_);

you should get zero, it's a vacuum solution.

I see an option to calculate WeylSq, which may be the square of what you want, but I'm not positive, I'm not familiar with that. Anyay the procedure is the same as the above

grcalc(WeylSq);
grdisplay(_);

The result is too long to display until you simplify it

gralter(_);
grdisplay(_);

Then you get something like:

$$
-48\,{\frac {{m}^{2} \left( \left( \cos \left( \theta \right) \right) ^{6}{a}^{6}-15\,{r}^{2}{a}^{4} \left(
\cos \left( \theta \right) \right) ^{4}+15\,{r}^{4}{a}^{2} \left(
\cos \left( \theta \right) \right) ^{2}-{r}^{6} \right) }{ \left(
\cos \left( \theta \right) \right) ^{12}{a}^{12}+6\, \left( \cos
\left( \theta \right) \right) ^{10}{r}^{2}{a}^{10}+15\,{a}^{8}
\left( \cos \left( \theta \right) \right) ^{8}{r}^{4}+20\,{a}^{6}
\left( \cos \left( \theta \right) \right) ^{6}{r}^{6}+15\,{a}^{4}
\left( \cos \left( \theta \right) \right) ^{4}{r}^{8}+6\,{a}^{2}
\left( \cos \left( \theta \right) \right) ^{2}{r}^{10}+{r}^{12}}}
$$

which I have no idea if it's actually right or not, or whether it's the thing that you actually want to calculate.
 

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