SERIES  ARTICLE
Snippets of Physics
4. Schwarzschild Metric at a Discounted Price*
T Padmanabhan works at
IUCAA, Pune and is
interested in all areas
of theoretical physics,
especially those which
have something to do with
gravity.
*
This is based on an article
originally published by the au-
thor in Physics Education, Vol.
23, No.1, p.47, 2006.
1
Einstein’s elevator is a box
which is accelerating upwards
in intergalactic space, far away
from all material bodies. Einstein
used this concept very effec-
tively to do his thought experi-
ments!
Keywords
General relativity, principle of
equivalence, free falling frame,
gravitational redshift, special
relativity.
312
T Padmanabhan
T h e g r a v ita tio n a l ¯ e ld o f a m a ssiv e , sp h e ric a l,
b o d y lik e th e S u n is d e sc r ib e d in g e n e r a l r e la -
tiv ity b y a so lu tio n to E in ste in 's e q u a tio n s c a lle d
th e S ch w a rz sch ild s o u tio n . H e re is a n e le m e n ta ry
p e r se p e c tiv e o n th is so lu tio n , w h ich { th o u g h fa r
fr o m a r ig o u r o u s d e riv a tio n { ra ise s in trig u in g
q u e stio n s.
T h e co rrect d escrip tio n o f g rav ity is b a sed o n E in stein 's
g en era l th eo ry o f rela tiv ity w h ich , u n fo rtu n a tely, h a s a
rep u ta tio n o f b ein g d i± cu lt to lea rn . H ow w o u ld y o u lik e
to g et a k ey resu lt o f g en era l rela tiv ity ra th er ch ea p ly ?
In th is in sta llm en t, I w ill d iscu ss h ow a n im p o rta n t re-
su lt o f g en era l rela tiv ity, v iz., th e d escrip tio n o f th e g rav -
ita tio n a l ¯ eld o f a sp h erica l b o d y, ca n b e o b ta in ed u sin g
o n ly th e co n cep ts o f sp ecia l rela tiv ity. T h is cu rio u s fa ct
a llow s y o u to ex p lo re a h o st o f p h y sica l p h en o m en a in -
clu d in g so m e a sp ects o f b la ck h o le p h y sics. H ow ev er, lik e
so m e o f th e stu n ts w h ich a p p ea r o n T V , th e d eriva tio n
g iv en h ere sh o u ld co m e w ith th e w a rn in g : \ T h is stu n t
is p erfo rm ed b y ex p erts a n d d o n o t try th is o n y o u r ow n
a t h o m e" ! T h e d eriva tio n w o rk s { fo r rea so n s w h ich a re
n o t co m p letely clea r { o n ly fo r a sp ecia l cla ss o f sp h er-
ica lly sy m m etric m o d els b u t co n sid erin g h ow ea sy it is,
it d eserv es to b e k n ow n m u ch b etter.
L et u s b eg in w ith a sim p le id ea w h ich y o u p ro b a b ly
k n ow . G rav ity o b ey s th e prin ciple of equ ivalen ce. C o n -
sid er, fo r ex a m p le, a sm a ll b ox (`E in stein 's eleva to r'1 )
w h ich is m ov in g in in terg a la ctic sp a ce, aw ay fro m a ll
m a teria l b o d ies, in so m e d irectio n (`u p ') w ith a u n ifo rm
a ccelera tio n g . W e w ill a ssu m e th a t it is p ro p elled b y th e
ro ck et m o to rs a tta ch ed to its b o tto m . L et u s co m p a re
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th e resu lts o f a n y p h y sica l ex p erim en t p erfo rm ed in sid e

If you jump off from
su ch a n eleva to r w ith th o se p erfo rm ed in sid e a sim ila r
the twentieth floor of
b ox w h ich is a t rest o n E a rth 's su rfa ce w h ere th e g rav -
a building you will
ita tio n a l a ccelera tio n is g . T h e p rin cip le o f eq u iva len ce
feel completely
tells u s th a t th e resu lts o f a ll p h y sica l ex p erim en ts w ill
weightless (‘zero
b e th e sa m e in th ese tw o ca ses; th a t is, o n e ca n n o t d is-
gravity’) until you
tin g u ish g rav ity fro m a n a ccelera ted fra m e w ith in a n y
su ± cien tly sm a ll reg io n . crash to the ground
(though this is not the
A n im m ed ia te co n seq u en ce o f th is p rin cip le is th a t y o u recommended
ca n m a k e g rav ity g o aw ay, w ith in a n y sm a ll reg io n o f procedure to verify
sp a ce, b y ch o o sin g a su ita b le fra m e o f referen ce u su a lly the principle of
ca lled freely fa llin g fra m e. F o r ex a m p le, if y o u ju m p o ® equivalence!).
fro m th e tw en tieth ° o o r o f a b u ild in g y o u w ill feel co m -
p letely w eig h tless (`zero g rav ity ') u n til y o u cra sh to th e
g ro u n d (th o u g h th is is n o t th e reco m m en d ed p ro ced u re
to v erify th e p rin cip le o f eq u iva len ce!). In su ch a freely
fa llin g fra m e, o n e ca n u se th e law s o f sp ecia l rela tiv ity
w ith o u t a n y p ro b lem sin ce g rav ity is a b sen t.
W e w a n t to u se th is id ea to d escrib e th e g rav ita tio n a l
¯ eld o f a sp h erica lly sy m m etric b o d y lo ca ted a b o u t th e
o rig in . T h e b o d y h a s a ra d iu s say, R , a n d w e a re stu d y -
in g th e g rav ita tio n a l ¯ eld in th e em p ty sp a ce a t r > R .
L et P b e a p o in t a t a d ista n ce r fro m th e o rig in . If
w e co n sid er a sm a ll b ox a ro u n d P w h ich is freely fa llin g
tow a rd s th e o rig in , th en th e m etric in th e co o rd in a tes
u sed b y a freely fa llin g o b serv er in th e b ox w ill b e ju st
th a t o f sp ecia l rela tiv ity :
d s 2 = c 2 d t2in ¡ d r 2in : (1 )
T h is is b eca u se, in th e freely fa llin g fra m e, th e o b serv er
is w eig h tless a n d th ere is n o e® ectiv e g rav ity (F igu re 1 ).
(T h e su b scrip t `in ' is fo r in ertia l fra m e.) L et u s n ow
tra n sfo rm th e co o rd in a tes fro m th e in ertia l fra m e to a
fra m e (T ;r), w h ich w ill b e u sed b y o b serv ers w h o a re
a t rest a ro u n d th e p o in t P . S u p p o se th e freely fa llin g
fra m e is m ov in g w ith a ra d ia l v elo city v (r) a ro u n d P .
T o d eterm in e th is v elo city, w e ca n im a g in e th a t th e

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Figure 1. The relation be-

tween freely falling and
vdT
static coordinate frames
Yin
around a spherically sym-
metric body. The thick red
lines indicate (Xin,Yin) axes
of the freely falling inertial
frame. The blue thin lines Xin
denote the corresponding
axes of a static coordinate
system glued at a fixed
point. (Of course, the figure
is not to scale and the coor-
dinates are supposed to be
infinitesimal in extent!). The
radial displacement be-
tween the two frames is by
the amount vr(r) dT during
freely fa llin g fra m e sta rted fro m v ery la rg e d ista n ce fro m
an infinitesimal time inter-
th e b o d y w ith zero v elo city a t in ¯ n ity. T h en , a sim p le
val dT. Through every event
there is a different freely
N ew to n ia npa n a ly sis sh ow s th a t its v elo city a t P w ill b e
falling frame related in a v (r ) = ¡ ^r 2 G M = r . W e n ow tra n sfo rm fro m th e freely
definite way to the fixed fa llin g in ertia l fra m e to th e sta tic fra m e o f referen ce
static frame. The freely fall- w h ich is g lu ed to th e p o in t P u sin g th e n o n -rela tiv istic
ing and static frames coin- (G a lilea n ) tra n sfo rm a tio n s d tin = d T ;d r in = d r ¡ v d T
cide at very large distance b etw een tw o fra m es w h ich m ov e w ith resp ect to ea ch
from the body. o th er w ith a rela tiv e v elo city v . O f co u rse, y o u h av e
to u se in ¯ n itesim a l q u a n tities in th is tra n sfo rm a tio n b e-
ca u se y o u n eed d i® eren t freely fa llin g in ertia l fra m es a t
d i® eren t p o in ts, in a n o n u n ifo rm g rav ita tio n a l ¯ eld .
W h a t w e rea lly w a n t is th e fo rm o f th e lin e elem en t in
eq u a tio n (1 ) in term s o f th e sta tic co o rd in a tes. S u b sti-
tu tin g th e tra n sfo rm a tio n s d tin = d T ;d r in = d r ¡ v d T in
eq u a tio n (1 ), w e ¯ n d th e m etric in th e n ew co o rd in a tes
to b e
· ¸
2G M p
2 2 2
ds = 1 ¡ c d T ¡ 2 (2 G M = r )d r d T ¡ d r 2 :
c2 r
(2 )
In credibly en ou gh, this tu rn s ou t to be the correct m etric

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describin g the space-tim e arou n d a spherically sym m et-

Schwarzschild
ric m ass distribu tion of total m ass M ! A s it sta n d s, th is
metric is used
lin e elem en t is n o t in `d ia g o n a l' fo rm in th e sen se th a t it
extensively both in
h a s a n o n -zero d r d T term . It w ill b e n icer to h av e th e
the study of
m etric in d ia g o n a l fo rm . T h is ca n b e d o n e b y m a k in g a
general relativistic
co o rd in a te tra n sfo rm a tio n o f th e tim e co o rd in a te (fro m
T to t) in o rd er to elim in a te th e o ® -d ia g o n a l term . W e corrections to
lo o k fo r a tra n sfo rm a tio n o f th e fo rm T = t + J (r ) w ith motion in the solar
so m e fu n ctio n J (r). T h is is eq u iva len t to ta k in g d T = system and in
d t + K (r )d r w ith K = d J = d r . S u b stitu tin g fo r d T in black hole physics.
eq u a tio n (2 ), w e ¯ n d th a t th
pe o ® -d ia g o n a l term is 2elim¡ 1i-
n a ted if w e ch o o se K (r ) = 2 G M = c 4 r(1 ¡ 2 G M = c r ) .
(I w ill leav e th e stra ig h t fo rw a rd a lg eb ra fo r y o u to w o rk
o u t.) In th is ca se, th e n ew tim e co o rd in a te is:
Z Z p
1 (2 G M = r)
t= dT + 2 dr : (3 )
c (1 ¡ 2 cG 2Mr )

T h e in teg ra l in th e seco n d term is elem en ta ry a n d w o rk -

in g it o u t y o u w ill ¯ n d th a t th e tra n sfo rm a tio n w e n eed
is:
"r r #
8G M r 4G M 2 G M
ct = cT ¡ ¡ ta n h ¡1 : (4 )
c2 c2 c2 r

W h a t is m o re im p o rta n t fo r u s is th e ¯ n a l fo rm o f th e
lin e in terva l in eq u a tio n (2 ) ex p ressed in th e sta tic co -
o rd in a tes w ith th e n ew tim e co o rd in a te t. T h is is g iv en
by µ ¶
2 2G M
ds = 1 ¡ c 2 d t2 ¡
c2 r
µ ¶¡ 1
2G M 2 2
¡ 2 2 2
¢
1¡ d r ¡ r d µ + sin µ d Á : (5 )
c2 r

S o m e o f y o u m ig h t h av e seen th is m etric, ca lled th e

S chw arzschild m etric, w h ich is u sed ex ten siv ely b o th in
th e stu d y o f g en era l rela tiv istic co rrectio n s to m o tio n in
th e so la r sy stem a n d in b la ck h o le p h y sics.

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A clock located in O n ce w e h av e th e fo rm o f th is m etric, w e ca n d o lo ts

a gravitational o f th in g s w ith it u sin g ju st sp ecia l rela tiv istic co n cep ts.
potential well of a
O n e sim p le b u t v ery sig n i¯ ca n t resu lt w h ich y o u ca n
o b ta in im m ed ia tely is th e fo llow in g : L et u s co n sid er a
massive body runs
clo ck w h ich is sittin g q u ietly a t so m e ¯ x ed lo ca tio n in
slowly compared to
sp a ce so th a t, a lo n g th e clo ck 's w o rld lin e, d r = d µ =
a clock located at
d Á = 0 . S u b stitu tin g th ese in to eq u a tio n (5 ), w e g et th e
large distances
p ro p er tim e sh ow n b y su ch a clo ck to b e
from the body.
· ¸1 = 2
2G M p
d¿ = 1 ¡ d t ´ g 0 0 (r )d t; (6 )
c2 r
w h en th e co o rd in a te clo ck tim e ch a n g es b y a n a m o u n t
d t. It is o b v io u s fro m th is rela tio n th a t d ¿ ! d t w h en
r ! 1 . T h a t is, o n e ca n th in k o f t a s th e p ro p er tim e
m ea su red b y a clo ck lo ca ted fa r aw ay fro m th e g ra v i-
ta tin g b o d y. T h e resu lt sh ow s th a t a clo ck lo ca ted in
a g rav ita tio n a l p o ten tia l w ell o f a m a ssiv e b o d y ru n s
slow ly co m p a red to a clo ck lo ca ted a t la rg e d ista n ces
fro m th e b o d y.
C o n sid er n ow a n electro m a g n etic w av e tra in m a d e o f N
crests a n d tro u g h s w h ich is trav ellin g ra d ia lly o u tw a rd
fro m so m e p o in t x to a n in ¯ n ite d ista n ce aw ay fro m th e
cen tra l b o d y. A n o b serv er lo ca ted n ea r x ca n m ea su re
th e freq u en cy o f th e w av e tra in b y m ea su rin g th e tim e
¢ ¿ it ta k es fo r th e N tro u g h s to cro ss h er a n d u sin g
th e resu lt ! = N = ¢ ¿ . A n o b serv er a t la rg e d ista n ces
w ill d o th e sa m e u sin g h er clo ck . S in ce th e freq u en cy
o f ra d ia tio n ! (x ) m ea su red b y lo ca l o b serv ers, a s th e
ra d ia tio n p ro p a g a tes fro m ev en t to ev en t in a cu rv ed
sp a cetim e, is in v ersely rela ted to th e tim e m ea su red b y
th e lo ca l clo ck , it fo llow s fro m eq u a tio n (6 ) th a t ! (x ) /
g 0 0 (x )¡ 1 = 2 . If g 0 0 ¼ 1 a t v ery la rg e d ista n ces fro m a m a ss
d istrib u tio n , th en th e freq u en cy o f ra d ia tio n m ea su red
b y a n o b serv er a t in ¯ n ity (! 1 ) w ill b e rela ted to th e
freq up en cy o f ra d ia tio n em itted a t so m e p o in t x b y ! 1 =
! (x ) g 0 0 (x ). T h is e® ect is ca lled g rav ita tio n a l red sh ift.
Y o u ca n n ow in v estig a te a ll k in d s o f p h y sics a ro u n d a

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sp h erica l g rav ita tin g b o d y, in gen era l rela tiv ity, sta rtin g Kepler’s second law
fro m th ese co n cep ts. A s a n illu stra tio n , w e w ill b rie° y regarding
d iscu ss h ow to stu d y o rb its o f p a rticles in g en era l rel- areal velocity does
a tiv ity. T o o b ta in th is resu lt in th e sim p lest m a n n er, not hold in special
let u s b eg in w ith th e tra jecto ry o f a p a rticle in sp e- relativistic motion in a
cia l rela tiv ity u n d er th e a ction o f a cen tra l fo rce. T h e central force if we
a n g u la r m o m en tu m L = r £ p is co n serv ed fo r th e p a r- use the coordinate
ticle b u t th e m o m en tu m is n ow g iv en b y p = ° m v w ith
time.
° ´ (1 ¡ v 2 = c 2 )¡ 1 = 2 . S o th e releva n t co n serv ed co m p o -
n en t o f th e a n g u la r m o m en tu m is L = m r 2 (d µ = d ¿ ) =
° m r 2 (d µ = d t) ra th er th a n m r 2 (d µ = d t). (T h is, in cid en -
ta lly, m ea n s th a t K ep ler's seco n d law reg a rd in g a rea l
v elo city d o es n o t h o ld in sp ecia l rela tiv istic m o tio n in a
cen tra l fo rce if w e u se th e co o rd in a te tim e. T h e p a rti-
cle w ill cov er eq u a l a rea s d u rin g eq u a l la p ses o f p ro p er
tim e.) C o n sid er n ow th e m o tio n o f a free sp ecia l rel-
a tiv istic p a rticle d escrib ed in polar co o rd in a tes. T h e
sta n d a rd rela tio n E 2 = p 2 c 2 + m 2 c 4 ca n b e m a n ip u la ted
to g iv e th e eq u a tio n
µ ¶ µ 2 2 ¶
E 2 dr 2 2 L c 2 4
= E ¡ + m c : (7 )
c2 d t r2

(T h is is still th e d escrip tio n o f a free p a rticle m ov in g in

a stra ig h t lin e b u t in th e p o la r co o rd in a tes!) S in ce sp e-
cia l rela tiv ity m u st h o ld a ro u n d a n y ev en t, w e ca n o b -
ta in th e co rresp o n d in g eq u a tio n fo r g en era l rela tiv istic
m o tio
pn b y sim pply rep la cin g d r, d t b y th e p ro p er qp u a n ti-
ties jg 1 1 jd r , jg 0 0 jd t a n d th e en erg y E b y E = jg 0 0 j
(w h ich is ju st th e red sh ift o b tain ed a b ov e) in th is eq u a -
tio n . T h is g iv es th e eq u a tio n fo r th e o rb it o f a p a rticle
o f m a ss m , en erg y E a n d a n g u la r m o m en tu m L a ro u n d
a b o d y o f m a ss M . W ith som e sim p le m a n ip u la tio n ,
th is ca n b e w ritten in a su g g estiv e fo rm a s:
µ ¶¡1
2G M dr c £2 2
¤1 = 2
1¡ = E ¡ V e® (r) (8 )
c2 r dt E

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w ith a n e® ectiv e p o ten tia l:

µ ¶µ ¶
V e® (r ) = m c 1 ¡
2 2 4 2G M L2
1+ : (9 )
c2 r m 2 r 2 c2

Y o u ca n n ow w o rk o u t va rio u s fea tu res o f g en era l rel-

a tiv istic o rb its ex a ctly a s y o u d o it in sta n d a rd K ep ler
p ro b lem . A n d th e a b ov e d eriva tio n clea rly sh ow s th a t
th e p a rticle is essen tia lly fo llow in g sp ecia l rela tiv istic,
free particle m o tio n a t a n y ev en t, in th e lo ca lly in ertia l
co o rd in a tes! T h is is rea lly g en era l rela tiv ity fo r th e p rice
o f sp ecia l rela tiv ity.
Address for Correspondence
T Padmanabhan
Suggested Reading
IUCAA, Post Bag 4
Pune University
[1] The derivation of Schwarzschild metric using the freely falling frame is
Campus
discussed in detail in M Visser, 2003, Heuristic approach to the Schwar-
Ganeshkhind
zschild geometry; gr-qc/0309072.
Pune 411 007, India.
For a textbook discussion, see T Padmanabhan, An Invitation to Astro-
Email:
physics, World Scientific, 2006.
paddy@iucaa.ernet.in
[2] The effective potential as well as orbits in Schwarzschild metric are
nabhan@iucaa.ernet.in
discussed in any standard text in general relativity, C W Misner, K S
Thorne and J A Wheeler, Gravitation, Freeman, ch.25, 1973.

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