On a Set of Conform-Invariant Equations of the Gravitational Field

Abstract

Eddington has considered equations of the gravitational field in empty space which are of the fourth differential order, viz. the sets of equations which express the vanishing of the Hamiltonian derivatives of certain fundamental invariants. The author has shown that a wide class of such equations are satisfied by any solution of the equationswhere Gμν and gμν are the components of the Ricci tensor and the metrical tensor respectively, whilst λ is an arbitrary constant. For a V4 this applies in particular when the invariant referred to above is chosen from the setwhere Bμνσρ is the covariant curvature tensor. K3 has been included since, according to a result due to Lanczos3, its Hamiltonian derivative is a linear combination of and , i.e. of the Hamiltonian derivatives of K1 and K2. In fact