What is the Inner Product in the Schwarzschild Metric?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the Schwarzschild Metric in the context of general relativity, specifically focusing on expressing the metric tensor in spherical coordinates. Participants are exploring the relationship between the metric components and the inner product, as well as the implications of these components.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • One participant attempts to derive the metric tensor from the inner product, questioning the meaning of certain terms and how to proceed. Others suggest a more straightforward approach to identify the metric components directly from the metric form.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants providing different perspectives on how to approach the problem. Some guidance has been offered regarding the identification of metric components, and there is acknowledgment of a simpler method that could be used. However, there is no explicit consensus on the necessity of using inner products in this context.

Contextual Notes

There is some uncertainty regarding the need for calculus in deriving the function f(r) in the Schwarzschild metric, as well as whether the specific form of f(r) was essential to the original question.

parsifal
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I need to write Schwarzschild Metric, that is in spherical coordinates, into the form that has the metric tensor.

Now, if the first the term of the metric is:
[tex]\Large (ds)^2=f(r)c^2dt^2-...[/tex] and x0=ct,
then the first component gij of the metric tensor g is supposed to be:
[tex]\Large <\frac{\partial}{\partial x^i} \ | \ \frac{\partial}{\partial x^j}> \ ,i=j=0 \Rightarrow<br /> (\frac{d}{dx^0}f(r)c^2dt^2 | \frac{d}{dx^0}f(r)c^2dt^2)[/tex]

But I do not actually understand that last statement. I guess dx0=cdt, but I do not know how to proceed from that.

So I know this: the component g00 of g is supposed to be f(r), and I know that f(r) should come from the inner product, but I do not understand how. Basically, what does [tex]\Large \frac{d}{dx^0}f(r)c^2dt^2[/tex] mean?

I apologize if this should have been in the introductory section, or in the calculus section.
 
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I don't see why you need to use the inner products. If you've already written down the metric in the form [tex]\Large (ds)^2=g_{ij}dx^idx^j[/tex] then you can simply read off the components of the metric tensor.
i.e. [tex](ds)^2=f(r)(dx^0)^2 \Rightarrow g_{00}=f(r)[/tex]
 
I guess I was trying to do it the hard way, for some unclear reason. I didn't understand that the solution you suggested would do.

Thanks for the answer!
 
I think that f(r) in the schwarzschild metric is:

[tex]f(r)=1-\frac{2m}{r}[/tex]

You don't need to do any calculus.
 
robousy said:
I think that f(r) in the schwarzschild metric is:

[tex]f(r)=1-\frac{2m}{r}[/tex]

You don't need to do any calculus.

I'm not sure that the actual form of the function was required in the question.
 

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