On the algebraic types of the Bel-Robinson tensor

The Bel-Robinson tensor is analyzed as a linear map on the space of the traceless symmetric tensors. This study leads to an algebraic classification that refines the usual Petrov-Bel classification of the Weyl tensor. The new classes correspond to degenerate type I space-times which have already been introduced in literature from another point of view. The Petrov-Bel types and the additional ones are intrinsically characterized in terms of the sole Bel-Robinson tensor, and an algorithm is proposed that enables the different classes to be distinguished. Results are presented that solve the problem of obtaining the Weyl tensor from the Bel-Robinson tensor in regular cases.