Huygens's principle for the wave equation for second-rank tensor fields

The differential equations for the Green's function for the wave equation of a second-rank tensor field are expanded in Robertson's geodesic coordinates about the vertex of the backward null cone as in a previous paper for the vector wave equation. It is concluded that Huygens' princi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Astrophysical journal Vol. 343; no. 2; pp. 849 - 852
Main Author Noonan, Thomas W.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Chicago, IL University of Chicago Press 01.08.1989
Subjects
640100 - Astrophysics & Cosmology
Astronomy
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
COORDINATES
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
Earth, ocean, space
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS
EQUATIONS
Exact sciences and technology
FIELD THEORIES
FUNCTIONS
Fundamental aspects of astrophysics
Fundamental astronomy and astrophysics. Instrumentation, techniques, and astronomical observations
GENERAL RELATIVITY THEORY
GRAVITATIONAL FIELDS
GREEN FUNCTION
HUYGENS PRINCIPLE
PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
Relativity and gravitation
RELATIVITY THEORY
SPACE-TIME
TENSORS
WAVE EQUATIONS
Wave equation
Gravitation
General relativity
Theoretical study
Space time
Huygens principle
Magnetic field
Green function
Ricci tensor
Geodetic coordinate
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Summary:The differential equations for the Green's function for the wave equation of a second-rank tensor field are expanded in Robertson's geodesic coordinates about the vertex of the backward null cone as in a previous paper for the vector wave equation. It is concluded that Huygens' principle is satisfied, subject to the special-relativity postulate, if and only if the spacetime is flat. Two physical fields to which this result may be applied are the electromagnetic field tensor and the linear approximation to the gravitational field.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.1086/167755