Paper 1, Section II, C
The Weyl tensor may be defined (in spacetime dimensions) as
where is the Riemann tensor, is the Ricci tensor and is the Ricci scalar.
(a) Show that and deduce that all other contractions vanish.
(b) A conformally flat metric takes the form
where is the Minkowski metric and is a scalar function. Calculate the Weyl tensor at a given point . [You may assume that at .]
(c) The Schwarzschild metric outside a spherically symmetric mass (such as the Sun, Earth or Moon) is
(i) Calculate the leading-order contribution to the Weyl component valid at large distances, , beyond the central spherical mass.
(ii) What physical phenomenon, known from ancient times, can be attributed to this component of the Weyl tensor at the location of the Earth? [This is after subtracting off the Earth's own gravitational field, and neglecting the Earth's motion within the solar system.] Briefly explain why your answer is consistent with the Einstein equivalence principle.