Related papers: Geometrical optics in general relativity
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…
In this article, we discuss the idea of gravitational lensing, from a systematic, historical and didactic point of view. We show how the basic lensing equation together with the concepts of geometrical optics opens a space of implications…
The geometric foundations of General Relativity are revisited, with particular attention to its gauge invariance, as a key to understanding the true nature of spacetime. Beyond the common image of spacetime as a deformable 'fabric' filling…
Typical applications of gravitational lensing use the properties of electromagnetic or gravitational waves to infer the geometry through which those waves propagate. Nevertheless, the optical fields themselves - as opposed to their…
The physical consistency of the match of piecewise-$C^0$ metrics is discussed. The mathematical theory of gravitational discontinuity hypersurfaces is generalized to cover the match of regularly discontinuous metrics. The mean-value…
The standard definition of gravitational lensing magnification is generalized to Lorentzian spacetimes, and it is shown how it can be interpreted geometrically in terms of the van Vleck determinant and the exponential map. This is joint…
General relativity is a set of physical and geometric principles, which lead to a set of (Einstein) field equations that determine the gravitational field, and to the geodesic equations that describe light propagation and the motion of…
An optical approach begins by interpreting the gravitational redshift resulting to a change in the relative velocity of light due to the medium of propagation in the gravitational field. The discussion continues by pointing out an agreement…
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…
An explicit form for the geodesic equations that would describe diffracted light rays is obtained and the Levi-Civita connection that enters into it is shown to be a sum of contributions from the metric of the ambient space, the index of…
Geometrical optics provides an instructive insight into Brownian motion, ``pushed" into a large-deviations regime by imposed constraints. Here we extend geometrical optics of Brownian motion by accounting for diffusion inhomogeneity in…
The theory of gravitational lensing is reviewed from a spacetime perspective, without quasi-Newtonian approximations. More precisely, the review covers all aspects of gravitational lensing where light propagation is described in terms of…
Gravitational lensing by gravitational wave is considered. We notice that although final and initial direction of photons coincide, displacement between final and initial trajectories occurs. This displacement is calculated analytically for…
The geometrical argument of the general relativity principle of Einstein is formulated in unstable Riemann space-time just inspired by the nonlinear representation of supersymmetry, which produces new Einstein-Hilbert type action.
We revisit the gravitational lensing phenomenon using a new visualization technique. It consists in projecting the observers sky into the source plane, what gives rise to a folded and stretched surface. This provides a clear graphical tool…
Lie derivatives of various geometrical and physical quantities define symmetries and conformal symmetries in general relativity. Thus we obtain motions, collineations, conformal motions and conformal collineations. These symmetries are used…
We present the first detailed computations of wave optics effects in the gravitational lensing of binary systems. The field is conceptually rich, combining the caustic singularities produced in classical gravitational lensing with quantum…
General relativity provides an appropriate framework for addressing the issue of sub- or superluminality as an apparent effect. Even though a massless particle travels on the light cone, its average velocity over a finite path measured by…
We present a new scheme of defining invariant observables for general relativistic systems. The scheme is based on the introduction of an observer which endowes the construction with a straightforward physical interpretation. The…
What is light and how to describe it has always been a central subject in physics. As our understanding has increased, so have our theories changed: Geometrical optics, wave optics and quantum optics are increasingly sophisticated…