Linearised conformal Einstein field equations

Abstract

The linearisation of a second-order formulation of the conformal Einstein field equations (CEFEs) in generalised harmonic gauge (GHG), with trace-free matter is derived. The linearised equations are obtained for a general background and then particularised for the study linear perturbations around a flat background—the inversion (conformal) representation of the Minkowski spacetime—and the solutions discussed. We show that the generalised Lorenz gauge (defined as the linear analogue of the GHG-gauge) propagates. Moreover, the equation for the conformal factor can be trivialised with an appropriate choice for the gauge source functions; this permits a scri-fixing strategy using gauge source functions for the linearised wave-like CEFE-GHG, which can in principle be generalised to the nonlinear case. As a particular application of the linearised equations, the far-field and compact source approximation is employed to derive quadrupole-like formulae for various conformal fields such as the perturbation of the rescaled Weyl tensor.