Notes on Gravitation (Misner et al.

, 1973)
Robert B. Scott,
1,2
1
Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin,
Austin, Texas, USA
2
Department of Physics, University of Brest,
Brest, France
To whom correspondence should be addressed; E-mail: rscott@ig.utexas.edu.
January 27, 2012
2
Part I
Spacetime physics
3
Chapter 1
Geometrodynamics in brief
1.5 Time
Time is dened so that motion looks simple. So free particles move in straight
lines at constant speeds. But how do we decide what a straight line is?
1.6 Curvature
Typo: Eq. (1.11), the 3rd should be a so that it reads:
D
2
x

D
2

e
m
F

dx

d
= 0
This corresponds to (Hobson et al., 2009, Eq. (6.13)).
1.7 Exercises
Exercise 1.1: Curvature of a cylinder
Show that the Gaussian curvature R of the surface of a cylinder is zero by
showing that geodesics on that surface (unroll!) suer no geodesic deviation.
Give an independent argument for the same conclusion by employing the
5
6
formula R = 1/
1

2
where
1
and
2
are the principal radii of curvature at the
point in question with respect to the enveloping Euclidean three-dimensional
space.
Solution:
The Gaussian curvature R, and the principal radii of curvature were not
precisely dened in the text, making this question a bit intimidating. They
are actually quite simple, and explained clearly by Faber (1983, p. 17). How-
ever, we can make progress with the given equation of geodesic deviation,
Eqn. (1.6),
d
2

ds
2
+ R = 0
where is the geodesic deviation, the distance between geodesics, c.f.
Fig. 1.10. Unrolling the cylinder doesnt change the distances between geodesics,
and helps reveal instantly that parallel geodesics have constant separation.
From Eqn. (1.6), this can only be true if R = 0.
The independent argument requires knowing what the principal radii of
curvature are. One might guess that these are the extremma of radii of
curvature of the curves that mark the intersect of the surface with orthogo-
nal planes. If one orients the plans such that
1
is minimum, the radius of
the cylinder, then the other is maximum, i.e.
2
= . Indeed, this assump-
tion is conrmed http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radius_of_curvature_
(applications). Better yet, read (Faber, 1983, 1.2). In short, a cyclinder
has no curvature along its length. An immediate consequence appears to be
that R is zero and parallel geodesics have constant separation.
Exercise 1.2: Spring tide vs. neap tide Evaluate (1) in conventional
units and (2) in geometrized units the magnitude of the Newtonian tide-
producing acceleration R
k
0j0
(k, j = 1, 2, 3) generated at the Earth by (1) the
moon (m
conv
= 7.35 10
25
[g], r = 3.84 10
10
[cm]) and (2) the sun. By what
factor do you expect spring tides to exceed neap tides? [Ive changed indices
(m, n) to (k, j) because m could be confused with the mass.]
Solution:
7
Eqn. (1.5) gives the acceleration of a test particle relative to a ducial
particle due to tide producing forces. The test particles can be viewed as
moving along geodesics in a Lorentzian frame of reference. The equation of
geodesic deviations is given by Eqn. (1.13). Equating these equations gives
the components of the terms of Riemann curvature tensor:
R
k
0j0
=
Gm
conv
r
3
= 8.66 10
14
sec
2
Note that despite being called acceleration by MTW, they have units of
frequency squared.
R
k
0j0
=
Gm
conv
c
2
r
3

k,j
, k {1, 2} =
m
r
3
= 0.00545[cm] 1/r
3
= 9.6310
35
cm
2
For the radial component, k = j = 3:
R
k
0j0
= 2
Gm
conv
r
3
= 17.32 10
14
cm sec
2
= 1.93 10
34
cm
2
Repeating the exercise for the Sun, one nds numbers almost 1/2 as big.
For the radial component:
R
k
0j0
=
Gm
conv
r
3
= 3.96 10
14
sec
2
As a physical oceanographer of course I quite like this question! But
I nd its a bit confusing too since there are so many aspects of tides to
compare: tidal velocities, tidal ellipses, etc. Probably most people think of
how far up and down the shore the water goes, so I would guess that here
MTW are asking about tidal amplitude of sea surface height. Predicting
the oceanic tides requires complex, global, numerical models (?) because the
tides are not in hydrostatic balance. It turns out that in most places the tides
produced by the Sun, S1 in oceanography lingo, are about 1/2 the amplitude
of those produced by the Moon, the M2 tides. During spring tide, the solar
and lunar tides combine, while during neap tide there is partial cancellation.
The spring tide should be 3 times larger than neap tide.
It seems quite naive to me to assume that the tidal vertical displacement
amplitude should be proportional to the forcing. The frequency of the M2
tides is about twice that of the S1 tides and this must be a factor as well.
8
Exercise 1.3: Kepler encapsulated A small satellite has a circular fre-
quency [cm
1
] in an orbit or radius r about a central object of mass m[cm].
From the known value of show that its not possible to determine neither
r nor m individually, but only the eective Kepler density of the object as
averaged over a sphere of the same radius as the orbit. Give the formula for

2
in terms of this Kepler density.
Solution:
Balance the centripetal acceleration with the Newtonian gravitational
acceleration,

2
(cm sec
2
) r =
Gm
conv
r
2
Or

2
(rad cm
1
) r =
Gm
conv
c
2
r
2
=
m
r
2
So given only one can determine the ratio of the mass to orbit radius cubed,
but not m nor r individually:

2
(rad cm
2
) =
m
r
3
.
The Kepler density is apparently
K
3m/(4r
3
), so

2
=
4
3

K
.
See also Figure 1.12.
Part II
Physics in at spacetime
9
Chapter 2
Foundations of special relativity
Box 2.2 Horrible choice of notation. The four-velocity and four-momentum
vectors are denoted in bold face sans-serif font. The spatial parts of these
four-vectors, which in general of course are not just the corresponding three-
vectors, are denoted also by bold fact but a slightly dierent font! If you
look really closely you can make out the dierence, but only if youre looking
for it!! And were not even warned of this until a few pages later. So for
instance, in the First Solution, second line of the equation,
p
2
= (mu
0
)
2
+ m
2
u
2
thats not a typo! The u
2
is just the spatial part of the four-velocity squared.
2.5 Dierential Forms
First equation (un-numbered, see bottom p. 53), dening the four momen-
tum. The mass here is the rest mass, not the relativistic mass.
Exercise 2.1: Show that equation (2.14) is in accord with the quan-
tum mechanical properties of a de Broglie wave
= exp(i) = exp[i(k x t)]
11
12
The momentum in the x
j
direction, for some arbitrary spatial direction
j, is (Eisberg and Resnick, 1985, Eq. (5-33))
p
j
=

i

x
j

d
3
x
=

exp[i(k x t)]

i

x
j

exp[i(k x t)]d
3
x
= i(ik
j
)

exp[i(k x t) exp[i(k x t) d
3
x
= k
j

d
3
x
= k
j
, normalization condition on wavefunction. (2.1)
The text instructs us to obtain the momentum 1-form p by multiplying
the phase by . Lets explore. If v = e
j
, then
p, e
j
= (number of surfaces crossed moving along e
j
)
= k
j
(2.2)
So far, so good! But we havent completely used Eq. (2.14) . . . Lets try eval-
uating the LHS too, here setting v = e
j
for some arbitrary spatial direction
j:
p v = p, v , Eq. (2.14) (2.3)
p e
j
= p, e
j
(2.4)
p
j
= k
j
(2.5)
For more general v = v
j
e
j
we simply get a factor of v
j
on both sides of the
equation that cancels.
13
2.6 Gradients and directional derivatives
2.7 Coordinate representation of geometric
objects
Exercise 2.2: Lowering the index to get the 1-form corresponding
to a vector The components u

of a 1-form u that corresponds to a vector

u can be obtained by lowering an index with metric coecients

:
u

MTW dened what a 1-form corresponding to a vector is on p. 58, using

Eq. (2.14) and Fig. 2.7. It appears that the 1-form of a vector is formed from
a family of planes with normal in the direction of the vector. But note that
normality is dened in Lorentzian geometry, not Euclidean geometry.
To obtain Eq. (2.26a), simply use Eq. (2.14), which denes the 1-form
corresponding to a given vector by equating the dot product of an arbitrary
vector and the given vector with the piercing of the arbitrary vector and the
corresponding 1-form. Choose the arbitrary vector to be the given vector, in
this case u,
u u = u, u

= u, u , [Eq. (2.11)]
= u

, u

, [Eq. (2.20)]
= u

, e

= u

, [Eq. (2.19)]
= u

(2.6)
u

, [ cancelled u

on both sides] (2.7)

14
Exercise 2.3: Raising the index to recover the vector One can return
ot the compoenents of u by raising indices:
u

The matrix ||

|| is dened as the inverse of ||

||, and happens to equal

||

||.
We start at (2.6), and multiply both sides by ||

|| (i.e. multiply on the

right by the inverse of ||

||) to obtain

= u

= u

, [Eq. (2.27)]
u

= u

= u

, [ cancelled u

on both sides]
u

, [ relabelled] (2.8)
Exercise 2.4: Varied routes to the scalar product The scalar product
of u with v can be calculated in any of the following ways:
u v = g(u, v) = u

= u

= u

The rst equality is just a denition of the metric tensor, introduced

in Section 2.4, see Eq. (2.6). The second equality was also introduced in
Section 2.4, and implies that the metric tensor is a linear operator. The
metric coecients are dened through the metric tensor operating on the
basis vectors g(e

, e

), see Eq. (2.9). The third equality follows immediately

from lower the index of v

, see Exercise 2.2. Raise the index in the nal

expression and you obtain the nal equality.
15
2.8 The centrifuge and the photon
Exercise 2.5: Energy and velocity from 4-momentum. A particle of
rest mass m and 4-momentum p is examined by an observer with 4-velocity
u. Show that:
(2.5a) the energy he measures is
E = p u
In momentarily comoving reference frame (MCRF) u
0
= 1 and the spatial
part is zero u
i
= 0. Therefore
p u = p
0
n
00
= +p
0
= E
This is true in the MCRF, it is a valid 4-vector expression, so it must be true
in all reference frames.
(2.5b) the rest mass he attributes to the particle is
m
2
= p
2
(= p p)
p
2
= p p
= (mu) (mu)
= m
2
u u
= m
2
(1) , [normalization condition on 4-velocity, see Box 2.2]
= m
2
(2.9)
(2.5c) the [ordinary] momentum he measures has magnitude
| p| = [(p u)
2
+p p]
1/2
16
[(p u)
2
+p p]
1/2
= [(E)
2
+p p]
1/2
, [Eq. (2.31)]
= [E
2
m
2
]
1/2
, [Eq. (2.32)]
= [m
2
+ p
2
m
2
]
1/2
, [Box 2.2, famous eqn in geometrized units]
= | p| (2.10)
(2.5d) the ordinary velocity v he measures has magnitude
|v| =
| p|
E
The key observation is that the space part of the 4-momentum, p
j
, is just
the ordinary 3-momentum. Thats because
p mu , [ 1st but un-numbered eqn. of 2.5]
= m[1, v
x
, v
y
, v
z
] , [Eq. (2.2)]
= [m, mv
x
, mv
y
, mv
z
]
(2.11)
But (m) is the relativistic mass, and the 3 spatial components above are
ordinary momentum:
p = (m)v
Thus
p
E
=
m[v
x
, v
y
, v
z
]
p
0
, [Box 2.2, p
0
= E]
=
m[v
x
, v
y
, v
z
]
m
= v (2.12)
So weve proven a little more then we were asked for the 3-vectors are equal,
not just their magnitudes.
(2.5e) the 4-vector v whose components in the observers Lorentz frame
are
v = [0, v
x
, v
y
, v
z
]
17
where the ordinary velocity is v = [v
x
, v
y
, v
z
], is given by
v =
p + (p u)u
p u
Notice that this 4-vector is not the 4-velocity!
p + (p u)u
p u
=
p + (E)u
E
, [Eq. (2.31)]
=
m[1, v
x
, v
y
, v
z
]
E
u , [Eq. (2.2)]
=
m[1, v
x
, v
y
, v
z
]
m
u , [Box 2.2, p
0
= E]
= [1, v
x
, v
y
, v
z
] [1, 0, 0, 0] , [in the observers MCRF]
= [0, v
x
, v
y
, v
z
] (2.13)
Exercise 2.6: Temperature Gradient
Redo the argument of 2.6, replacing with proper time and the scalar
eld f with temperature T. Eq. (2.16a) gives us:

dT
d

P
=
v
T
and Eq. (2.17) gives

v
T = dT, v
In a local Lorentz frame inside the sun, this equation can be written as
dT
d
= u

T
x

=
1

1 v
2
T
t
+
v
j

1 v
2
T
x
j
Why is this result reasonable?
18
We can mostly interpret this equation from the perspective and nomen-
clature of classical uid dynamics. The LHS looks like a material derivative
following the motion of the particle. The middle term relates this to the ad-
vection through the temperature gradient but with usual velocity replaced
by 4-velocity. This is reasonable because the particle is advected through
space-time. And it is reasonable to expect the 4-velocity to play a role re-
lated to that of normal velocity, though the exact similarity is striking. The
nal term looks like the sum of Eulerian derivative
T
t
plus the advection due to the regular velocity
v
j
T
x
j
But the both terms have been modied by the factor
=
1

1 v
2
the same factor that appears in the Lorentz transformation. Perhaps thats
all the authors had in mind. Thinking more deeply about the problem one
might nd deeper reasoning. For instance, comparing the rate of temperature
change measured in the stars frame,
T
t
+ v
j
T
x
j
with the that felt by the particle,
dT
d
we see the latter is smaller by a factor of . And this is what we expect
from the fact that moving clocks run slowly. In this case a moving particle
warms more slowly.
2.9 Lorentz Transformations
Exercise 2.7: Boost in an arbitrary direction
19
(a) Show that Eq. (2.44) does satisfy the condition
T
= required
by of a Lorentz transformation.
We require the Minkowski metric to be invariant under the Lorentz trans-
formation:

(2.14)
The problem naturally separates into considering the time-like and space-
like parts separately. Lets start with

0
=

=
00

0
0

0
0
+
ij

i
0

j
0

=
00

2
+
ij
( n
i
) ( n
j
) , [be careful not to confuse with n]
= (1)
2
+
ij
( n
i
) ( n
j
) , [substituted the metric]
= (1)
2
+ ( n
i
)
2
, [non-diagonal terms vanish]
= (1)
2
+ ( )
2
, [normalization condition on n]
= 1 , [elementary algebra]
=
00
, [as required] (2.15)
Next we deal with

i
=

=
00

0
0

0
i
+
ij

i
0

j
i

=
00
( n
i

) +
ij
( n
i
) [( 1) n
i

n
j
+
i

j
]
= 1
2
n
i

+
ij
( n
i
) [( 1) n
i

n
j
+
i

j
] , [substituted the metric]
=
2
n
i

+ ( ) [( 1) n
i

(n
j
)
2
+ n
j

j
] , [summed over i]
=
2
n
i

+ ( ) [( 1) n
i

+ n
i

] , [summed over j]
= 0 , [elementary algebra]
=
0i
, [as required] (2.16)
From the general transformation equation, (2.14), and the symmetry of
the metric

we see immediately that

i
=
i

= 0
=
i0
, [as required] (2.17)
20
Finally we deal with

j
=

=
00

0
i

0
j
+
ij

i
i

j
j

=
00
( n
i

) ( n
j

) +
ij
[( 1) n
i

n
i
+
i

i
] [( 1) n
j

n
j
+
j

j
]
= 1 ( )
2
n
i

n
j

+
ij
[( 1) n
i

n
i
+
i

i
] [( 1) n
j

n
j
+
j

j
]
=
2

2
n
i

n
j

+ [( 1)n
i

n
i
+
i

i
][( 1) n
j

n
i
+
j

i
] , [sumed over j]
=
2

2
n
i

n
j

+ ( 1)
2
n
i

n
j

(n
i
)
2
+ ( 1)n
i

n
i

i
+ ( 1) n
j

n
i

i
+
i

i
, [just expanded]
=
2

2
n
i

n
j

+ ( 1)
2
n
i

n
j

+ ( 1)n
i

n
j

+ ( 1) n
j

n
i

+
i

[sum over i]
= n
i

n
j

[
2

2
+ ( 1)
2
+ 2( 1)] +
i

= n
i

n
j

[
2

2
+
2
1] +
i

, [algebra]
=
i

, [more algebra]
=
ij
, [as required] (2.18)
Chapter 3
The Electromagnetic Field
3.1 The Lorentz Force and the Electromag-
netic Field Tensor
Exercise 3.1 Derive Eq. (3.5) and (3.7) for the components of the Faraday
by comparing Eq. (3.4) with Eq. (3.2a,b), and using denition Eq. (3.6).
Lets start with the p
0
term. Eq. (3.4) gives us
dp

d
= eF

dp
0
d
= eF
0

(3.1)
And this must agree with the energy equation Eq. (3.2b):
dp
0
d
= e

E (v)
Recognizing that v is the spatial part of the 4-velocity u, we can write the
21
22
matrix equation
eF
0

= e

F
0
0
F
0
1
F
0
2
F
0
3

u
0
u
1
u
2
u
3

= e

0 E
x
E
y
E
z

u
0
u
1
u
2
u
3

(3.2)
For the remainder its best to write out Eq. (3.2a) (without the e) and again
recognizing that v is the spatial part of the 4-velocity u:
(u
0

E + v

B) = e
x
[u
0
E
x
+ u
2
B
z
u
3
B
y
]
+e
y
[u
0
E
y
u
1
B
z
+ u
3
B
x
]
+e
z
[u
0
E
z
+ u
1
B
y
u
2
B
x
]
=

E
x
0 B
z
B
y
E
y
B
z
0 B
x
E
z
B
y
B
x
0

u
0
u
1
u
2
u
3

(3.3)
From which we conclude

F
1
0
F
1
1
F
1
2
F
1
3
F
2
0
F
2
1
F
2
2
F
2
3
F
3
0
F
3
1
F
3
2
F
3
3

E
x
0 B
z
B
y
E
y
B
z
0 B
x
E
z
B
y
B
x
0

and of course combining this result with the rst we get Eq. (3.5), as required.
To write Eq. (3.6) in matrix form we note that we want a sum over the
dummy index so we make this the column index of the matrix on the left
23
and the row index of the matrix on the right:
F

, [Eq. (3.6)]
=

1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1

0 E
x
E
y
E
z
E
x
0 B
z
B
y
E
y
B
z
0 B
x
E
z
B
y
B
x
0

0 E
x
E
y
E
z
E
x
0 B
z
B
y
E
y
B
z
0 B
x
E
z
B
y
B
x
0

(3.4)
which is easier to remember because its antisymmetric.
3.2 Tensors in all generality
Exercise 3.2. Transformation law for components of a tensor From
the transformation laws for components of vectors and 1-forms, derive the
transformation law Eq. (3.14)
Using the notion expressed in Eq. (3.12),
S

= S(

, e

)
= S(

) , [Eqs. (2.40) & (2.41)]

=

S(

, e

) , [linearity c.f. Eq. (2.12) ]

=

, [Eq. (3.12)] (3.5)

24
Bibliography
Eisberg, R., and R. Resnick, 1985: Quantum Physics of atoms, molecules,
solids, nuclei, and particles. 2nd ed., John Wiley and Sons, 713 pp.
Faber, R. L., 1983: Dierential geometry and relativity theory: An Introduc-
tion. Marcel Dekker. 255 + X pp.
Hobson, M., G. Efstathiou, and A. Lasenby, 2009: General Relativity: An
introduction for physicists. Cambridge. 572 +XVIII pp.
Misner, C. W., K. S. Thorne, and J. A. Wheeler, 1973: Gravitation. W. H.
Freeman and company. 1279 + XXVI pp.
25