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TIDAL TENSOR APPROACH TO GRAVITOELECTROMAGNETISM

Article in International Journal of Modern Physics A · April 2009

DOI: 10.1142/S0217751X0904525X

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L. Filipe O. Costa Carlos Herdeiro

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International Journal of Modern Physics A

Vol. 24, Nos. 8 & 9 (2009) 1695–1699

c World Scientific Publishing Company

TIDAL TENSOR APPROACH TO

GRAVITOELECTROMAGNETISM

L. FILIPE O. COSTA
Centro de Fı́sica do Porto, Faculdade de Ciências Universidade do Porto,
Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
and
Centro Multidisciplinar de Astrofı́sica, Instituto Superior Técnico,
Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
filipezola@fc.up.pt

CARLOS A. R. HERDEIRO
Centro de Fı́sica do Porto, Faculdade de Ciências Universidade do Porto,
Rua do Campo Alegre 687, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
crherdei@fc.up.pt

Received 30 September 2008

We summarize the gravito-electromagnetic analogy based on tidal tensors. This analogy

leads to an exact and fully general form for the gravitational analogues of Maxwell’s
equations, which allows for a transparent comparison between the two interactions.
Special cases of matching between gravitational and electromagnetic tidal tensors are
discussed.

Keywords: Gravitomagnetism; Papapetrou equation; Godel universe.

PACS numbers: 04.20.-q, 04.20.Cv, 04.80.Cc, 03.50.De.

1. Gravitational and Electromagnetic Tidal Tensors

In what follows we present a gravito-electromagnetic analogy1,2 stemming from
exact and covariant equations: the gravitational and electromagnetic worldline de-
viations, the electromagnetic force exerted on a magnetic dipole and the analogous
gravitational force on a spinning pole-dipole test particle (hereafter a gyroscope).
Electric tidal tensors — Eqs. (1b) and (1a) of Table 1 are, respectively, the
geodesic deviation equation and the analogous electromagnetic worldline deviation,
yielding the “acceleration” of the vector δxα connecting two neighboring test parti-
cles with the same 4-velocity — and the the same q/m ratio in the electromagnetic
case. These equations suggest the physical analogy: Eαβ ↔ Eαβ . These tidal ten-
sors are dubbed electric because Eαβ is the covariant derivative of the electric field
E α = F αβ U β seen by the observer of (fixed) 4-velocity U β .

1695
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1696 L. Filipe O. Costa & C. A. R. Herdeiro

Table 1. The gravito-electromagnetic analogy based on tidal tensors.

Electromagnetism Gravity

Worldline deviation: Geodesic deviation:

D 2 δxα q α D 2 δxα
= E δxβ , E αβ ≡ F αµ;β U µ (1a) = −Eαβ δxβ , Eαβ ≡ Rαµβν U µ U ν (1b)
Dτ 2 m β Dτ 2
Force on magnetic dipole: Force on gyroscope:
β q β
FEM = B β S α , B αβ ≡ F αµ;β U µ (2a) FG = −Hαβ S α , Hαβ ≡ Rαµβν U µ U ν (2b)
2m α
Maxwell Equations: Eqs. Grav. Tidal Tensors:
E αα = 4πρc (3a) Eαα = 4π (2ρm + T αα ) (3b)
1
E[αβ] = F
2 αβ;γ
Uγ (4a) E[αβ] = 0 (4b)
B αα =0 (5a) Hαα =0 (5b)
1
B[αβ] = 2
 Fαβ;γ U γ − 2παβσγ j σ U γ (6a) H[αβ] = −4παβσγ J σ U γ (6b)

j α ≡ charge current density 4-vector, ρc = −j α Uα ≡ charge density; J α = −T αβ U β ≡ mass

/energy density current, ρm = Tαβ U α U β ≡ mass/energy density (quantities measured by
the observer of 4-velocity U α ); Tαβ ≡ energy-momentum tensor.

Magnetic tidal tensors — The electromagnetic force exerted on a magnetic

dipole and the gravitational force exerted on a gyroscope are analogous tidal effects.
The former is described by:3
α DP α 1
FEM ≡ = F µν;α Qµν
Dτ 2
where Qµν is the dipole moment tensor. For a classical magnetic dipole Qµν =
(q/2m)Sµν , being Sµν the spin tensor . This equation is the covariant form of the
familiar 3-D expression FEM = ∇(S.  B)q/2m
 (which is valid only in the dipole’s
rest frame). Assuming the condition Sµν U ν = 0 (known as Pirani supplementary
condition), then Sµν = µνλτ S λ U τ and we obtain equation (2a) of Table 1.
The gravitational force exerted on a gyroscope is given by Papapetrou’s equa-
tion:
DP α 1
FGα ≡ = − Rαβµν U β S µν .
Dτ 2
If Pirani supplementary condition holds, then this expression is equivalent to Eq.
(2b) of Table 1, revealing the physical analogy Bαβ ↔ Hαβ . These tensors are
dubbed magnetic tidal tensors because Bαβ is the covariant derivative of the mag-
netic field B α = F αβ U β measured by the observer of (fixed) 4-velocity U β .

1.1. The gravitational analogue of Maxwell’s equations

If we take the traces and anti-symmetric parts of the electromagnetic tidal tensors,
we obtain Eqs. (3a)-(6a) of Table 1, which are explicitly covariant forms for each
of Maxwell’s equations: Eqs. (3a) and (5a) are the covariant forms of ∇.E  = 4πρc
and ∇.B = 0; Eqs. (4a) and (6a) are covariant forms for ∇ × E = −∂ B/∂t and
  
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Tidal Tensor Approach to Gravitoelectromagnetism 1697

∇×B  = ∂ E/∂t
 + 4πj, respectively. These equations may be cast as equations
involving only tidal tensors and sources, which can be seen decomposing:

Fαβ;γ = 2U[α Eβ]γ + αβµσ B µγ U σ . (7)

By performing, on the gravitational tidal tensors, the same operations that

lead to Eqs. (3a)-(6a) (i.e., taking the traces and anti-symmetric parts) we ob-
tain the analogous set of Eqs. (3b)-(6b). Eqs. (3b) and (6b) turn out to be ex-
actly the time-time and and time-space projections of Einstein equations Rµν =
8π(Tµν − 12 gµν T αα ). Eqs. (4b) and (5b) are related to the algebraic Bianchi identities
(analogously, Eqs. (4a) and (5a) follow from the electromagnetic Bianchi identity).

1.2. Gravity vs electromagnetism

Eqs. (3a)-(6a) are strikingly similar to Eqs. (3b)-(6b) when the setups are stationary
in the observer’s rest frame. Otherwise, they tell us that the two interactions must
differ significantly, since the tidal tensors do not have the same symmetries.
Charges — the gravitational analogue of ρc is 2ρm + T αα (ρm + 3p for a perfect
fluid) ⇒ in gravity, pressure and all material stresses contribute as sources.
Ampére law — in stationary (in the observer’s rest frame) setups, equations
(6a) and (6b) match up to a factor of 2 ⇒ currents of mass/energy source gravito-
magnetism like currents of charge source magnetism.
Absence of electromagnetic-like induction effects in gravity — Eαβ always sym-
metric ⇒ there is no gravitational analogue to Faraday’s law of induction! Likewise,
induction term Fαβ;γ U γ in (6a) has no counterpart in (6b).
Gyroscope vs. magnetic dipole — by virtue of Eqs. (6a) and (6b), forces (2a) and
(2b) are similar only if the fields are stationary (besides weak) in the gyroscope/
dipole frame. The relative minus sign reflects the fact that masses/charges of the
same sign attract/repel, implying that parallel charge/mass currents attract/repel.
Time Projections (in test particle’s rest frame):

α
• FEM Uα is minus the power transferred to the dipole (depicted below as a
small current loop of area A) by Faraday’s induction:

• FGα Uα = 0, since Hαβ is a spatial tensor ⇒ the energy of the gyroscope is

constant ⇒ spatial character of tidal tensors precludes gravitational ana-
logue to Faraday’s induction (induction terms in Eqs. (4a) and (6a) are
time projections of tidal tensors, as shown by Eq. (7)).
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1698 L. Filipe O. Costa & C. A. R. Herdeiro

2. Matching Between Tidal Tensors

Despite playing analogous roles in the dynamics of both theories, gravitational and
electromagnetic tidal tensors are generically very different: in their symmetries,
in the fact that the former are spatial and non-linear whereas the latter are not.
Nevertheless, a matching may occur under certain special conditions.

2.1. Linearized gravity

If the fields are stationary in the observer’s rest frame, the linearized gravitational
tidal tensors from the general metric:
ds2 = − (1 − 2φ) dt2 − 4Aj dtdxj + Θij dxi dxj
match the electromagnetic ones produced by the field of 4-potential Aα = (φ, A):


Eij  −D̂i D̂j φ = Eij , Hij  ˆilk D̂j D̂l Ak = Bij

This can be illustrated by an elementary example of analogous physical systems
— a spinning mass and a spinning charge: in the far field limit (where the non-
linearities of the gravitational field are negligible) the gravitational tidal tensors
generated by the former assimptotically match the electromagnetic ones from the
latter.1,2

2.2. Ultrastationary spacetimes

In this special class of spacetimes, whose line element is generically given by:

2
ds2 = − dt + Ai (xk )dxi + ĝij (xk )dxi dxj , (8)
the Klein-Gordon equation reduces to a time-independent Schrödinger equation
 2
(P + E A) E 2 − m2
Hψ = ψ; H= , = ,
2m 2m
for a particle with “charge” −E and mass m, living in a curved 3-space with metric
ĝij , under the action of a magnetic field B  = ∇ × A.  The covariant derivative

(with respect to ĝij ) of B turns out to be, up to a factor of 2, the exact magnetic
gravitational tidal tensor of (8) as measured by a stationary observer (U α = δ α0 ):
D̂j Bi ≡ Bij = ˆlki D̂j D̂l Ak = 2Hij ;

an exact matching between tidal tensors from a linear theory (electromag-
netism) and a non-linear one (General Relativity)! This provides valuable
insight for the understanding of some properties of these spacetimes.
Example: the Gödel Universe — portrayed in literature as a homogeneous ro-
tating universe (awkward definition, means rotation around any point!) The Gödel
metric can be written in the form (8) with
√ 1 √
Ai dxi = e 2ωx
dy , ĝij dxi dxj = dx2 + e2 2ωx dy 2 + dz 2 ,  = 2ωez .
B
2
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Tidal Tensor Approach to Gravitoelectromagnetism 1699

Bij = Hij = 0 ⇒ it has an uniform gravitomagnetic field. Homogeneous rotation

is easily visualized in analogy with the picture of a gas of charged particles subject
to an uniform magnetic field: there are Larmor orbits around any point.

References
1. L. Filipe O. Costa and Carlos A. R. Herdeiro, Phys. Rev. D 78, 024021 (2008).
2. L. Filipe Costa and Carlos A. R. Herdeiro, arXiv:gr-qc/0612140.
3. H. Stephani, Relativity, 3rd edn. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004).

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