Scalar field and electromagnetic perturbations on locally rotationally symmetric spacetimes

Abstract

We study scalar field and electromagnetic perturbations on locally rotationally symmetric (LRS) class II spacetimes, exploiting a recently developed covariant and gauge-invariant perturbation formalism. From the Klein–Gordon equation and Maxwell's equations, respectively, we derive covariant and gauge-invariant wave equations for the perturbation variables and thereby find the generalized Regge–Wheeler equations for these LRS class II spacetime perturbations. As illustrative examples, the results are discussed in detail for the Schwarzschild and Vaidya spacetime, and briefly for some classes of dust universes.