Chapters of Advanced General Relativity

Notes for the Amsterdam-Brussels-Geneva-Paris doctoral school 2014

Glenn Barnich
Physique Theorique et Mathematique
Universite Libre de Bruxelles and International Solvay Institutes
Campus Plaine C.P. 231, B-1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
E-mail: gbarnich@ulb.ac.be

Abstract. The major aim of the course is to provide technical background material needed for standard computations in general relativity and
its extensions. The material covered includes the Cartan formulation, variational principles of gravitational theories, the Newman-Penrose formalism
and theoretical aspects of black hole physics. The choice of chapters is to a
large extent idiosyncratic.

Contents
1 Elements of differential geometry

1.1

Manifolds and functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.2

Tangent vectors and vector fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.3

Covectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.4

Tensor algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.5

Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.6

Differential forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.7

Maps and Lie derivative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.8

Affine connection and covariant derivative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.9

Matter couplings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2 Variational principles for Einsteins equations

2.1

Auxiliary fields, symmetries and conservation laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.2

Metric formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.3

Palatini formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.4

Cartan formulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.5

3d gravity as a Chern-Simons theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.6

Einstein-Dirac theory

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3 Newman-Penrose formalism

3.1

Null basis and spin coefficients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.2

Weyl, Ricci and Riemann tensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.3

Structure constants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.4

Bianchi identities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.5

Lorentz transformations and gauge fixation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.6

Optical scalars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.7

Petrov classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.8

Goldberg-Sachs theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4 Black holes

4.1

Killing horizons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4.2

Schwarzschild black hole and Rindler spacetime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4.3

Kerr black hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4.4

The first law of black hole mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5 Asymptotics
5.1

Asymptotic symmetries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6 Acknowledgements

References

Elements of differential geometry

This section mostly follows [1]. Other references I have found useful are [2], [3].
Missing proofs of Frobenius and Stokes theorem can be found in [4].

1.1

Manifolds and functions

1.2

Tangent vectors and vector fields

1.3

Covectors

1.4

Tensor algebra

1.5

Metrics

1.6

Differential forms

1.7

Maps and Lie derivative

1.8

Affine connection and covariant derivative

1.9

Matter couplings

Variational principles for Einsteins equations

This part follows exercises 1.4 and 3.17 of [5], chapter 21 of [6]. The application to
3d gravity follows [7] (see also [8]). The Einstein-Dirac application is taken from [9].
The discussion of Noether charges, identities and conserved n 2 forms is adapted
from [10].

2.1

Auxiliary fields, symmetries and conservation laws

2.2

Metric formulation

2.3

Palatini formulation

2.4

Cartan formulation

2.5

3d gravity as a Chern-Simons theory

2.6

Einstein-Dirac theory

Newman-Penrose formalism

This part follows closely [11] with some elements from [12]. A useful summary of
the main results of this and the first chapter can be found in [13].

3.1

Null basis and spin coefficients

3.2

Weyl, Ricci and Riemann tensor

3.3

Structure constants

3.4

Bianchi identities

3.5

Lorentz transformations and gauge fixation

3.6

Optical scalars

3.7

Petrov classification

3.8

Goldberg-Sachs theorem

Black holes

This part follows mainly [14]. See also chapter 20 of [6], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19],
[10].

4.1

Killing horizons

4.2

Schwarzschild black hole and Rindler spacetime

4.3

Kerr black hole

4.4

The first law of black hole mechanics

Asymptotics

Some elementary results on symmetries of asymptotically flat and AdS spacetimes

in d dimensions are presented. Original literature is [20], [21], [22], [23]. The
presentation here is based on [24], [25].

5.1

Asymptotic symmetries

Acknowledgements

This work is supported in part by the Fund for Scientific Research-FNRS (Belgium), by IISN-Belgium, and by Communaute francaise de Belgique - Actions de
Recherche Concertees.

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