Related papers: Generalizing Optical Geometry
Assuming a general timelike congruence of worldlines as a reference frame, we derive a covariant general formalism of inertial forces in General Relativity. Inspired by the works of Abramowicz et. al. (see e.g. Abramowicz and Lasota, Class.…
In a companion paper (Jonsson and Westman, Class. Quantum Grav. 23 (2006) 61), a generalization of optical geometry, assuming a non-shearing reference congruence, is discussed. Here we illustrate that this formalism can be applied to a…
The starting point of this work is the principle that all movement of particles and photons in the observable Universe must follow geodesics of a 4-dimensional space where time intervals are always a measure of geodesic arc lengths, i.e.…
We consider the standard problem of observational astronomy, i.e. the observations of light emission from a distant region of spacetime in general relativity. The goal is to describe the changes between the measurements of the light…
Theorists are often told to express things in the "observational plane". One can do this for space-time geometry, considering "visual" observations of matter in our universe by a single observer over time, with no assumptions about…
The geometrical-optics expansion reduces the problem of solving wave equations to one of solving transport equations along rays. Here we consider scalar, electromagnetic and gravitational waves propagating on a curved spacetime in general…
In special relativity a gyroscope that is suspended in a torque-free manner will precess as it is moved along a curved path relative to an inertial frame S. We explain this effect, which is known as Thomas precession, by considering a real…
The coupling between the electromagnetic and gravitational fields results in "faster than light" photons and invalids the Lorentz invariance and some laws of physics. A typical example is that the first and third laws of geometric optics…
We derive a generalized deviation equation -- analogous to the well-known geodesic deviation equation -- for test bodies in General Relativity. Our result encompasses and generalizes previous extensions of the standard geodesic deviation…
We present a generalisation of surface photometry to the higher-order moments of the line-of-sight velocity distribution of galaxies observed with integral-field spectrographs. The generalisation follows the approach of surface photometry…
General covariant expressions for measurable angles, distances, velocities, and accelerations are provided in terms of fundamental parameters that can be applied in any setup. The relativistic aberration of light relationship is presented…
Contemporary relativity theory is restricted in two points: (1) a use of the Riemannian space-time geometry and (2) a use of inadequate (nonrelativistic) concepts. Reasons of these restrictions are analysed in [1]. Eliminating these…
Rotation of polarization in an external gravitational field is one of the effects of general relativity that can serve as a basis for its precision tests. A careful analysis of reference frames is crucial for a proper evaluation of this…
We define a procedure by which observers can measure a type of special-relativistic linear and angular momentum $(P^a, J^{ab})$ at a point in a curved spacetime using only the spacetime geometry in a neighborhood of that point. The method…
We develop the spacetime approach to gravitational lensing by spherically symmetric perturbations of flat, cosmological constant-dominated Friedman-Robertson-Walker metrics. The geodesics of the spacetime are expressed as integral…
We continue the development of a manifestly 4-dimensional, completely covariant, approach to transformation optics in linear dielectric materials begun in a previous paper. This approach, which generalizes the Plebanski based approach, is…
We develop a generic spacetime model in General Relativity which can be used to build any gravitational model within General Relativity. The generic model uses two types of assumptions: (a) Geometric assumptions additional to the inherent…
Gravitational lensing constitutes one of the most direct observational manifestations of spacetime curvature and provides a powerful probe of compact astrophysical objects. In this work, we present a comprehensive analysis of the bending of…
The precession angular velocity of a gyroscope moving along a general geodesic in the Kerr spacetime is analyzed using the geometric properties of the spacetime. Natural frames along the gyroscope world line are explicitly constructed by…
We pursue a geometrical approach to gravitational lensing theory. We present a survey of the background theory of General Relativity, including particular properties of the Schwarzschild and Kerr solutions. Next we outline a proof of the…