2021/04/21 by Joshua Baines, Baines, Joshua
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) #Relativity and Gravitational Theory
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2104.10332
openalex publication_date 2021/04/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Every spacetime is defined by its metric, the mathematical object which further defines the spacetime curvature. From the relativity principle, we have the freedom to choose which coordinate system to write our metric in. Some coordinate systems, however, are better than others. In this text, we begin with a brief introduction into general relativity, Einstein's masterpiece theory of gravity. We then discuss some physically interesting spacetimes and the coordinate systems that the metrics of these spacetimes can be expressed in. More specifically, we discuss the existence of the rather useful unit-lapse forms of these spacetimes. Using the metric written in this form then allows us to conduct further analysis of these spacetimes, which we discuss.