Energy and Momentum of Robinson-Trautman Space-Times

Abstract

Robinson and Trautman space-times are studied in the context of teleparallel equivalent of general relativity (TEGR). These space-times are the simplest class of asymptotically flat geometries admitting gravitational waves. We calculate the total energy for such space-times using two methods, the gravitational energy-momentum and the translational momentum 2-form. The two methods give equal results of these calculations. We show that the value of energy depends on the gravitational mass M, the Gaussian curvature of the surfaces λ(u,θ) and on the function K(u,θ). The total energy reduces to the energies of Schwarzschild’s and Bondi’s space-times under specific forms of the function K(u,θ).