Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-general-relativity-ii-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2017/3/b/solution

The metric tensor is independent of and , so
are commuting Killing vector fields. For they span the continuous Killing vector field algebra; every constant linear combination is also a Killing vector field. They express stationary spacetime and axial symmetry, respectively. At the allowed endpoint the spherical symmetry of Schwarzschild spacetime enlarges the algebra: in addition to , a basis of rotational Killing vector fields is
Their polar-coordinate expressions are singular at the axis, but the rotational fields are smooth there.
Let be the tangent to any affinely parametrized geodesic. For a Killing vector field ,
This is the geodesic conserved quantity from a Killing vector. With , choose the energy and axial angular momentum conventions
For a massive particle with proper time parameter these are per unit rest mass; for a null geodesic their common scale depends on the affine parameter normalization. Expanding in the supplied Boyer-Lindquist coordinates gives
The factor of two between and the coefficient of is essential for these signs and coefficients.

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