More on the conformal mapping of quasi-local masses: the Hawking–Hayward case

Abstract

The conformal transformation of the Hawking–Hayward quasi-local mass is re-examined. It has been found recently that the conformal transformation of the latter exhibits the ‘wrong’ conformal factor compared to the way usual masses transform under conformal transformations of spacetime. We show, in analogy with what was found recently for the Misner–Sharp mass, that unlike the purely geometric definition of the Hawking–Hayward mass, the latter exhibits the ‘right’ conformal factor whenever expressed in terms of its material content via the field equations. The case of conformally invariant scalar–tensor theories of gravity is also examined. The equivalence between the Misner–Sharp mass and the Hawking–Hayward mass for spherically symmetric spacetimes manifests itself by giving identical peculiar behaviors under conformal transformations.