On defining astronomically meaningful Reference Frames in General Relativity
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
2026-04-03 v1 Astrophysics of Galaxies
Abstract
In a recent paper we discussed when it is possible to define reference frames nonrotating with respect to distant inertial reference objects (extension of the IAU reference systems to exact general relativity), and how to construct them. We briefly review the construction, illustrating it with further examples, and caution against the recent misuse of zero angular momentum observers (ZAMOs).
Cite
@article{arxiv.2510.07400,
title = {On defining astronomically meaningful Reference Frames in General Relativity},
author = {L. Filipe O. Costa and Francisco Frutos-Alfaro and José Natário and Michael Soffel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.07400},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
Based on arXiv:2303.17516 [Phys. Rev. D 108, 044056 (2023)]. To appear in the Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation (GR24), Glasgow, 14-18 July 2025