The general set of Noetherian energy-momentum tensors in linearized gravity: mathematical framework

Abstract

Energy-momentum tensors are foundational objects which are uniquely defined in standard physical field theories such as electrodynamics and Yang-mills theory. In general relativity, and in particular linearized gravity where symmetries required for an energy-momentum tensor derived from Noether’s first theorem are well defined, there exists a long standing non-uniqueness problem; numerous distinct energy-momentum expressions exist in the literature, and there is not consensus which, if any, is the unique expressions for the theory. Recently, the viability of the superpotential ‘improvement’ method was shown to be insufficient for addressing the non-uniqueness problem of energy-momentum tensors in linearized gravity. In the present article, the mathematical framework for the general set of Noetherian energy-momentum tensors in linearized gravity is derived using Noether’s first theorem, which consists of all possible energy-momentum tensors from the Noether current which yield the linearized Einstein field equations in the corresponding Euler-Lagrange equation of the Noether identity without introducing any ‘improvement’ terms. This result has several advantages in addition to not requiring ‘improvements’, such as the ability to impact the Lagrangian proportional piece of the energy-momentum tensor. Numerous common published gravitational energy-momentum expressions are then compared to these general results to assess which can be classified as Noetherian, and which cannot. Standard physical criteria such as symmetry and tracelessness are then used to prove that it is possible to directly obtain an energy-momentum tensor which is simultaneously symmetric and traceless from the Noether current; such an expression is derived from the general results. Consequences of these results and their relation to the aforementioned non-uniqueness problem are discussed.