General Relativity, Spring 2015

Instructor: Yih-Yuh Chen

Homework 3
The due date for this assignment is 12pm Monday, April 20, 2015.
1. For the time-independent metric

2
= 1
2 + 2

we studied in class it is possible to do a thought-experiment to attempt to compare

the clock rates at two nearby heights. Here is how. Suppose a stationary observer at
+ sends two light signals at the respective coordinate time 1 and 2 downward to
his downstairs neighbor at . (The two events may serve as the "tick-tock" of a clock
at rest relative to the upstairs observer.) Assume the downstairs neighbor receives the
two signals at the coordinate time 01 1 + 1 and 02 2 + 2 , respectively.
(a) Using the fact that light rays have a null worldline, please show that 1 = 2 .
(b) Does 0 02 01 equal 2 1 ?

(c) Compute the proper time associated with (0 ) of the upstairs (downstairs)
observer and show that the observer downstairs has a slower pace in life.

2. Same as in Problem 1, except that this time we attempt to let go of a small rock from
rest at the respective coordinate time 1 and 2 to serve as the "tick-tock" events. Because we havent explicitly said anything about how to compute the particle trajectory
up to this point, there appears no way for us to proceed further. However, because the
metric is time-independent, we do expect that 1 = 2 , where refers
to the proper time of the rock from the moment it is released till it hits the observer
downstairs.
(a) Please use the fact 1 = 2 to show that 1 = 2 .
(b) Assuming that 1 = 0 and 2 = 1 s for both Problem 1 and the current problem,
do you think the 1 of the current problem equals the 1 of Problem 1? Why?
3. The Rindler metric reads
2 = (1 + 0 )2 2 + 2
(a) If we take 0 to be 10 m/s2 (in SI units), please compute the distance of the event
horizon to the origin = 0.
(b) Show that Rindler metric can be recast into
2 = (1 + 20 0 ) 2 +

1
02
(1 + 20 0 )

where 0 () is some function of . (Please also find the functional form of .)

1

4. (20 points) Dr. Planckenstein attempted to geometrize the Newtonian gravity by

assuming
2 = ()2 2 + ()2 2
for some functions and , where only radial motion is under consideration. We
assume that () = () = 1.
(a) Please show that the proper acceleration of a particle is given by
"
#
2
2

2

1

1
2

=
+2
+
+
+

2

2

where is the associated coordinate basis vector.
(b) For some obscure reason never explained to us, Planckenstein decided to impose
the following assumption:
1. (i) In order for a particle to remain at a fixed radial coordinate , it must
satisfy

| fixed = 2

(Note: You might wish to recall Problem 4 of Homework 2 to kind of see why
Planckenstein made this assumption.) Please show that this leads to
1 ln

= 2
2

(1)

(c) Planckenstein further imposed the following assumption, again, for no obvious
reason:
1. (ii) For a particle initially at rest at infinity, its free fall into the gravitational
field of a point source of mass must satisfy
2

2
2
Please show that this leads to
1
22

1 2 =

(d) Use Eqns. (1) and (2) to show that

2 (2) 2
2 = 1
+

1
for some positive constant .

(e) Explain why one can recast the above into

2
1
2
= 1
2 +
2

1 2

after certain rescaling in the radial coordinate.

(2)