Second-order parametrized-post-Newtonian Lagrangian.

Abstract

A many-body Lagrangian to second post-Newtonian order using an extension of the parametrized-post-Newtonian (PPN) formalism is introduced and the properties of new parameters are explored. A parametrized gauge transformation is developed to permit comparison with theories of gravity in a variety of different coordinate systems. A procedure to impose Lorentz invariance on a general second-order post-Newtonian Lagrangian is developed. The Lagrangian is then constrained to possess Lorentz invariance and a "Lorentz-invariant" gauge is introduced. The constrained Lagrangian is found to be described by ten new second-order PPN parameters. When the Lagrangian is further constrained to describe theories of gravity for which test particles move along geodesics, one of the ten new parameters is given entirely in terms of first-order PPN parameters, leaving only nine PPN parameters to describe the second-order gravitational interaction. A "metric" gauge is introduced which allows the metric to be easily found from the Lagrangian and is shown to reduce to the gauge associated with the canonical formalism of Arnowitt, Deser, and Misner when the general-relativity values of the PPN parameters are used.