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B. Sc. Examination by Course Unit 2011: Duration: 2 Hours Date and Time: 3rd May 2011, 10:00 Am

This document appears to be an exam for a relativity course consisting of two sections. The first section contains 5 questions testing key concepts of relativity like Lorentz transformations, tensors, and the Einstein field equations. The second section has 3 longer form questions involving 4-vectors, geodesics, and the Schwarzschild metric. The exam provides various formulas and definitions to use in solving the problems but calculators are not permitted.

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79 views6 pages

B. Sc. Examination by Course Unit 2011: Duration: 2 Hours Date and Time: 3rd May 2011, 10:00 Am

This document appears to be an exam for a relativity course consisting of two sections. The first section contains 5 questions testing key concepts of relativity like Lorentz transformations, tensors, and the Einstein field equations. The second section has 3 longer form questions involving 4-vectors, geodesics, and the Schwarzschild metric. The exam provides various formulas and definitions to use in solving the problems but calculators are not permitted.

Uploaded by

ShootingStarPhotons
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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B. Sc.

Examination by course unit 2011


MTH6132 Relativity
Duration: 2 hours
Date and time: 3rd May 2011, 10:00 am
Apart from this page, you are not permitted to read the contents of
this question paper until instructed to do so by an invigilator.
The paper has two Sections and you should attempt both Sections. Please
read carefully the instructions given at the beginning of each Section.
Calculators are NOT permitted in this examination. The unauthorized
use of a calculator constitutes an examination oence.
Complete all rough workings in the answer book and cross through
any work which is not to be assessed.
Candidates should note that the Examination and Assessment Regu-
lations state that possession of unauthorized materials by any candidate
who is under examination conditions is an assessment oence. Please
check your pockets now for any notes that you may have forgotten that
are in your possession. If you have any, then please raise your hand and
give them to an invigilator now.
Exam papers must not be removed from the examination room.
Examiner(s): Dr. Juan A. Valiente Kroon
c Queen Mary, University of London (2011) TURN OVER
Page 2 MTH6132 (2011)
You are reminded of the following information, which you
may use without proof.
Lower case Latin indices run from 0 to 3.
The metric tensor of the Minkowski spacetime is
ab
such that
ds
2
=
ab
dx
a
dx
b
= c
2
dt
2
+ dx
2
+ dy
2
+ dz
2
The Lorentz transformations between two frames F and F

in standard con-
guration are given by
x

= (x vt), t

t
vx
c
2

, y

= y, z

= z
where
=
1

1 (v
2
/c
2
)
and F

is moving with speed v relative to F.


The covariant derivative of a covariant vector is given by

a
V
b
=
a
V
b

f
ba
V
f
.
The metric tensor satises:
g
ab
g
bc
=
a
c
.
Christoel symbols (connection):

m
ij
=
1
2
g
mk
(
i
g
kj
+
j
g
ik

k
g
ij
).
The Riemann curvature tensor:
R
a
bcd
=
c

a
bd

d

a
bc
+
a
ec

e
bd

a
ed

e
bc
.
EulerLagrange equations:
d
d

L
x
c

L
x
c
= 0
Geodesic equations:
x
a
+
a
bc
x
b
x
c
= 0.
TURN OVER
c Queen Mary, University of London (2011)
MTH6132 (2011) Page 3
SECTION A: You should attempt all questions. Marks awarded are shown next to
the questions.
Question 1
(i) On page 2 you are given the Lorentz transformation that allows to write the co-
ordinates (t

, x

, y

, z

) in terms of the coordinates (t, x, y, z). Write the inverse


transformation (that is, the transformation that allows to write the coordinates
(t, x, y, z) coordinates in terms of the coordinates (t

, x

, y

, z

)). Justify your


answer.
(ii) Show that
c
2
t
2
+ x
2
+ y
2
+ z
2
is an invariant upon the Lorentz transformation given on page 2.
(iii) Draw a 2-dimensional i.e. (t, x) spacetime diagram describing the following
situation: a light ray is shot from the origin at time t = t
1
; it hits a mirror
located at x = x
0
and it is reected back to the origin; it reaches the origin at
a time t = t
2
. To draw the diagram use units for which c = 1. At what time
does the light hit the mirror?
[10 Marks]
Question 2
In what follows, let

A and

B denote two arbitrary 4-vectors.
(i) Dene what is meant by the norm |

A|
2
and the scalar product

A

B.
(ii) What are the conditions for

A to be timelike, spacelike and null?
(iii) Using the fact that |

A|
2
, |

B|
2
and |

A+

B|
2
are invariants, show that the scalar
product

A

B is also an invariant.
[10 Marks]
Question 3
(i) Dene the Kronecker delta
a
b
. Show that in 4 dimensions one has that

a
a
= 4.
(ii) Give the transformation rule of a type (2, 2) tensor S
ab
cd
. Show that S
ab
ca
is
a tensor of type (1, 1) and that S
ab
ba
is a scalar i.e. a tensor of type (0, 0).
(iii) Show that if W
ab
is a tensor of type (0, 2) satisfying
W
ab
= W
(ab)
in one system of coordinates, then W
ab
= W
(ab)
for all systems of coordinates.
[10 Marks]
c Queen Mary, University of London (2011) TURN OVER
Page 4 MTH6132 (2011)
Question 4
The metric for a particular two-dimensional spacetime is given by
ds
2
= y
3
dx
2
+ x
4
dy
2
(i) Calculate by the method you prefer all the components of the connection
a
bc
for this metric.
(ii) Calculate the R
x
yxy
component of the Riemann tensor.
[10 Marks]
Question 5
The line element and the metric tensor are related to each other via
ds
2
= g
ab
dx
a
dx
b
.
(i) By recalling that ds
2
is an invariant and that dx
a
, dx
b
are arbitrary, show that
g
ab
is a type (0, 2) tensor.
(ii) The line element of the Minkowski metric in Cartesian coordinates is given by
ds
2
= dt
2
+ dx
2
+ dy
2
+ dz
2
.
Show that the Minkowski metric
ab
given by the above line element is a
solution to the vacuum Einstein eld equations
R
ab
= 0.
(iii) Why is the metric
ds
2
= dt
2
+ dr
2
+ r
2
d
2
+ r
2
sin
2
d
2
,
also a solution to the vacuum Einstein eld equations?
[10 Marks]
c Queen Mary, University of London (2011)
MTH6132 (2011) Page 5
SECTION B: Each question carries 25 marks. You may attempt all questions.
Except for the award of a bare pass, only marks for the best TWO questions will be
counted.
Question 6
In this question consider units for which c = 1.
(i) Dene the 4-velocity u of a timelike particle in Special Relativity. Show that
for such particle
| u|
2
= 1.
Dene the 4-momentum p. Prove that
| p|
2
= m
2
0
,
where m
0
is the rest mass of the particle.
(ii) Show that the 4-momentum can be expressed in terms of the 3-velocity of the
particle, v, and its rest mass as
p = m
0
(v)(1, v),
where
(v) =
1

1 v
2
, v = |v|.
(iii) An atom of rest mass m
0
at rest in a laboratory absorbs a photon of frequency
. Use the conservation law of 4-momentum to nd the velocity and rest mass
of the resulting particle.
Question 7
In this question
a
denotes the covariant derivative given by the Levi-Civita
connection (Christoel symbols) as given on page 2.
(i) On page 2 you are given the formula for the covariant derivative of a covariant
tensors of type (0, 1). What is the corresponding formula for the covariant
derivative of a rank 2 covariant tensor (0, 2) tensor?
(ii) Recalling that for a scalar, , one has that
a
=
a
, show that

b
=
b

a
.
(iii) Show, by a direct computation, that

a
g
bc
= 0.
c Queen Mary, University of London (2011) TURN OVER
Page 6 MTH6132 (2011)
Question 8
Consider the Schwarzschild metric
ds
2
=

1
2GM
r

dt
2
+

1
2GM
r

1
dr
2
+ r
2

d
2
+ sin
2
d
2

.
(i) Derive the geodesic equations satised by a photon for this metric using the
Euler-Lagrange equations.
(ii) Derive the equation expressing that the 4-velocity of a photon moving on the
Schwarzschild spacetime has zero norm.
(iii) Use the geodesic equations to nd an expresion for dr/dt. Show that the path
for a light ray moving radially inwards in the Schwarzschild metric is given by
the condition
t + r + 2GM ln(r 2GM) = constant
End of Paper
c Queen Mary, University of London (2011)

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