dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaGravitational Waves: An Introduction
| Authors | Indrajit Chakrabarty |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/9908041 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9908041 |
Abstract
In this article, I present an elementary introduction to the theory of gravitational waves. This article is meant for students who have had an exposure to general relativity, but, results from general relativity used in the main discussion have been derived and discussed in the appendices. The weak gravitational field approximation is first considered and the linearized Einstein's equations are obtained. We discuss the plane wave solutions to these equations and consider the transverse-traceless (TT) gauge. We then discuss the motion of test particles in the presence of a gravitational wave and their polarization. The method of Green's functions is applied to obtain the solutions to the linearized field equations in presence of a nonrelativistic, isolated source.
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"abstract": "In this article, I present an elementary introduction to the theory of\ngravitational waves. This article is meant for students who have had an\nexposure to general relativity, but, results from general relativity used in\nthe main discussion have been derived and discussed in the appendices. The weak\ngravitational field approximation is first considered and the linearized\nEinstein\u0027s equations are obtained. We discuss the plane wave solutions to these\nequations and consider the transverse-traceless (TT) gauge. We then discuss the\nmotion of test particles in the presence of a gravitational wave and their\npolarization. The method of Green\u0027s functions is applied to obtain the\nsolutions to the linearized field equations in presence of a nonrelativistic,\nisolated source.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/9908041",
"authors": [
"Indrajit Chakrabarty"
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"title": "Gravitational Waves: An Introduction",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9908041"
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