Can we use the Schwarzschild metric under the horizon?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the use of the Schwarzschild metric in the context of thin shells, particularly focusing on the behavior of the metric under the event horizon. Participants explore the implications of the metric's signature change and the resulting effects on the four-velocity of particles in the shell.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants discuss the application of the Israel junction formalism to describe the motion of thin shells in Schwarzschild spacetime, questioning the validity of using the Schwarzschild metric below the horizon.
  • There is confusion regarding the sign of the four-velocity component tdot, with references to various papers suggesting it can change sign below the horizon.
  • One participant notes that above the horizon, the four-velocity must be future-directed, implying a positive tdot, while below the horizon, the nature of the coordinates changes, leading to uncertainty about the sign.
  • Participants debate whether the radial coordinate r becomes a time coordinate below the horizon, with some asserting that it does, while others express skepticism about the implications of this change.
  • There is a discussion about the continuity of velocity as the shell crosses the horizon, with references to specific mathematical expressions that illustrate the conditions under which continuity can be maintained.
  • One participant raises a conceptual issue regarding the definition of "inside" and "outside" in spherically symmetric spacetimes, particularly under the horizon, suggesting that traditional definitions may not align with physical intuition.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the validity of using the Schwarzschild metric below the horizon and the implications of changing coordinate signatures. There is no consensus on the correct interpretation of the four-velocity sign or the definitions of spatial and temporal coordinates in these regions.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight limitations in existing literature regarding the treatment of the sign of tdot and the implications of coordinate changes below the horizon. The discussion reflects ongoing uncertainties in the application of the Schwarzschild metric in these contexts.

mersecske
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Hi everybody,

The framework of infitesimally thin shells
is the well known Israel junction formalism.
Let us suppose motion of a thin in Schwarzschild spacetime.
I mean both side of the shell is desribed by Schwarzschild metric.
Let us suppose that the shell consists non-massless particles,
in this case the hypersurface of the shell has to be timelike.
The four velocity of the shell u^a = (tdot,rdot,0,0),
where t and r is Schwarzschild coordinates, dot means d/dtau,
where tau is the proper time on the shell measured by co-moving observer.
This formula is used every papers below and above the horizon.
I am a little bit confused, because t is timelike coordinate just outside the horizon!
Below the horizon, with the same Schwarzild metric,
the metric has signature (+-++) instead of (-+++)
Can we use the Schwarzschild metric under the horizon?

Lots of papers have used.
Let us suppose the metric in the form:
ds^2 = -F(r)*dt^2 + dr^2/F(r) + r^2*domega^2
In this case u_a = (-F*tdot,rdot/F,0,0) therefore
-1 = u^a*u_a = -F*tdot^2 + rdot^2/F
tdot can be eliminated from this equation,
but this equation determine only the square of tdot,
therefore we don't know its signum!
(rdot^2 can be derived independent of the signum other way)
Normally you think that tdot is positive, but not always!
For example Eid and Langer 2000 said
that tdot is positive above the horizon,
but can change sign under the horizon (but can be positive and negative also).
Its ok, but how can I determine the sign in a situation?
Why is positive for example above the horizon?
 
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mersecske said:
This formula is used every papers below and above the horizon.

Could you give references to soem specific papers that do this?
 
You have linked this book:
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=418941
in an other topic: Thin shell velocity is greater than speed of light?

The signum is also missed in this book at equation (16.62)
From equation (16.61) only the square of tdot can be extracted,
therefore in the right side of (16.62)
instead of tdot -> +-tdot is the right expression
How can we found the right signum?
In the referred papers you can see that the signum is not always +1
 
mersecske said:
Why is positive for example above the horizon?

Above the horizon, only the plus sign is valid because 4-velocity is a future-directed timelike vector. If [itex]dt/d\tau[/itex] were negative above the horizon, then the material in the shell would be traveling into the past instead of into the future.
mersecske said:
You have linked this book:
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=418941
in an other topic: Thin shell velocity is greater than speed of light?

The signum is also missed in this book at equation (16.62)
From equation (16.61) only the square of tdot can be extracted,
therefore in the right side of (16.62)
instead of tdot -> +-tdot is the right expression
How can we found the right signum?

I think that this example only means to treat the case above the horizon.
mersecske said:
In the referred papers you can see that the signum is not always +1

Below the horizon, [itex]t[/itex] is a spatial coordinate, so [itex]dt/d\tau[/itex] can be positive or negative, just as [itex]dr/d\tau[/itex] can be positive or negative above the horizon.
 
Below the horizon r is time coordinate, isn't it?
In this case dr/dtau has to be positive, but this cannot be true.
Or -r is the right time coordinate?

It is possible to use metric in the Einstein theory,
which has different signature in different regions?
Because the Schwarzschild metric
has -+++ signature above the horizon,
and +-++ under the horizon
 
So -r is (one of) the time coordinate below the horizon?
 
Sorry for forgetting about this.
mersecske said:
Below the horizon r is time coordinate, isn't it?

Yes.
mersecske said:
In this case dr/dtau has to be positive, but this cannot be true.
Or -r is the right time coordinate?

r is a past-directed timelike coordinate, and -r is a future-directed timelike coordinate.
mersecske said:
It is possible to use metric in the Einstein theory,
which has different signature in different regions?
Because the Schwarzschild metric
has -+++ signature above the horizon,
and +-++ under the horizon

Signature doesn't have an ordering. For two common conventions for signature, see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_signature.
mersecske said:
So -r is (one of) the time coordinate below the horizon?

Yes.
 
dt/dtau = +-sqrt(f(r) + rdot^2)/f(r)

Ok, the signum is + above the horizon,
because f(r) > 0 and dt/dtau has to be positive!

Below the horizon t is nomore time coordinate,
therefore the sign can be +- !

However if we assume that the shell just comes thru the horizon
and we use eddington ingoing null coordinate (v) avoiding the coordinate singularirty
-> the the velocity dv/dtau has to be continuous:

dv/dtau = (+-sqrt(f(r) + rdot^2)+rdot)/f(r)

since the sqrt term is not zero at the horizon,
the sign + has to be valid to be continuous.

But there is a radius r=R,
where sqrt(f(r) + rdot^2) = 0 in the outer Schwarzschild spacetime
(in the inner one, this is always positive)
For a dust sell, with constant mass parameters,
this radius is R=mr^2/(2mg)

Below this radius we cannot use the continuity argument,
because the sqrt term is zero!
but we can use the continuity argument for the derivative!

This is right?
 
  • #10
There is another issue about shells.
Authors usually define inside- and outside- region
in spherically symmetric spacetimes such a way that
in the direction of the space-like normal vector
to the hypersurface (world sheet) of the shell
(pointing into the region) the area radius increase or decrease.
However this definition is not always match to our intuition,
because under the horizon it is possible to chage inside to outside
along a time-like geodetic. This is the case when the world-line
cross one of the r=constant coordinate curves orthogonally.
Are there any sense to define inside- outside locally in general?
 

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