Orthogonality of Gravitational Wave Polarizations

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on the orthogonality of gravitational wave polarizations, specifically how two plane gravitational waves with transverse-traceless amplitudes are orthogonal if their inner product equals zero. A 45-degree rotation of one wave's polarization is proposed to show that it becomes proportional to the other wave's polarization. The user attempts to apply a complex rotation to the components of the tensor but struggles with the concept of matrix rotation and its implications for rank two tensors. Ultimately, they realize that using a rotation matrix can yield the desired proportionality, prompting a question about the existence of a complex version for this transformation. Understanding the transformation of rank two tensors under rotations is crucial for solving the problem.
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Homework Statement


Two plane gravitational waves with TT (transverse-traceless) amplitudes, ##A^{\mu\nu}## and ##B^{\mu\nu}##, are said to have orthogonal polarizations if ##(A^{\mu\nu})^*B_{\mu\nu}=0##, where ##(A^{\mu\nu})^*## is the complex conjugate of ##A^{\mu\nu}##. Show that a 45 degree rotation of ##B^{\mu\nu}## makes it proportional to ##A^{\mu\nu}##.

Homework Equations


For waves propagating in the z direction under the TT gauge, ##A^{xx}##, ##A^{xy}##, and ##A^{yy}=-A^{xx}## are the only non-zero components.

The Attempt at a Solution


$$(A^{\mu\nu})^*B_{\mu\nu}=2(A^{xx})^*B_{xx}+2(A^{xy})^*B_{xy}=0$$
$$B_{xy} = -B_{xx}\frac{(A^{xx})^*}{(A^{xy})^*}$$
$$ (B_{\mu\nu})=B_{xx}\begin{pmatrix}
1 & -(A^{xx})^*/(A^{xy})^*\\
-(A^{xx})^*/(A^{xy})^* & -1\\
\end{pmatrix} = \frac{B_{xx}}{(A^{xy})^*}\begin{pmatrix}
(A^{xy})^* & -(A^{xx})^*\\
-(A^{xx})^* & -(A^{xy})^*\\
\end{pmatrix}$$

At this point, I'm not really sure what to do. I don't know what it means to "rotate" a matrix so I assume the correct thing to do is complex rotate each component, but I'm not entirely sure what this entails either. I tried multiplying each component by ##e^{i\pi/4}=(1+i)/\sqrt{2}## but I'm not sure how this helps. Any advice?
 
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How do rank two tensors transform under rotations?
 
Orodruin said:
How do rank two tensors transform under rotations?

Ahh of course, use the rotation matrix twice. This gets me B proportional to A* if I use the normal (real valued) rotation matrix. Is there a complex version that will get me B proportional A?
 
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