Wedging spacetime principal null directions

Abstract

Taking wedge products of the [Formula: see text] distinct principal null directions (PNDs) associated with the eigen-bivectors of the Weyl tensor associated with the Petrov classification, when linearly independent, one is able to express them in terms of the eigenvalues governing this decomposition. We study here algebraic and differential properties of such [Formula: see text]-forms by completing previous geometrical results concerning type I spacetimes and extending that analysis to algebraically special spacetimes with at least two distinct PNDs. A number of vacuum and nonvacuum spacetimes are examined to illustrate the general treatment.