Peeling properties of lightlike signals in General Relativity

TL;DR

This paper investigates how lightlike signals peel or decay in different Bondi-Sachs vacuum spacetimes, revealing both conventional and unconventional behaviors depending on the asymptotic flatness of the space-times involved.

Contribution

It analyzes the peeling properties of lightlike signals in general Bondi-Sachs spacetimes and identifies conditions leading to unconventional peeling behavior.

Findings

Peeling behavior is generally conventional in radiating systems.

Unconventional peeling occurs when space-times tend to flatness faster than usual.

Static Bondi-Sachs space-times exhibit atypical peeling properties.

Abstract

The peeling properties of a lightlike signal propagating through a general Bondi-Sachs vacuum spacetime and leaving behind another Bondi-Sachs vacuum space-time are studied. We demonstrate that in general the peeling behavior is the conventional one which is associated with a radiating isolated system and that it becomes unconventional if the asymptotically flat space-times on either side of the history of the light-like signal tend to flatness at future null infinity faster than the general Bondi-Sachs space-time. This latter situation occurs if, for example, the space-times in question are static Bondi-Sachs space- times.