Energy Momentum Pseudo-Tensor of Relic Gravitational Wave in Expanding Universe

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the energy-momentum pseudo-tensor of relic gravitational waves in an expanding universe, comparing different forms and their implications for energy conservation and pressure during cosmic evolution.

Contribution

It clarifies the gauge invariance of the gravitational wave stress tensor and distinguishes between two pressure forms, linking them to background matter coupling.

Findings

Both pseudo-tensors converge to the same gauge-invariant stress tensor in the short wavelength limit.

The difference between the two pressure forms is negligible during most cosmic expansion stages.

The wave equation is shown to be equivalent to the energy conservation equation when using the appropriate pressure.

Abstract

We study the energy-momentum pseudo-tensor of gravitational wave, and examine the one introduced by Landau-Lifshitz for a general gravitational field and the effective one recently used in literature. In short wavelength limit after Brill-Hartle average, both lead to the same gauge invariant stress tensor of gravitational wave. For relic gravitational waves in the expanding universe, we examine two forms of pressure, $p_{gw}$ and $\mathcal{P}_{gw}$, and trace the origin of their difference to a coupling between gravitational waves and the background matter. The difference is shown to be negligibly small for most of cosmic expansion stages starting from inflation. We demonstrate that the wave equation is equivalent to the energy conservation equation using the pressure $\mathcal{P}_{gw}$ that includes the mentioned coupling.