Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/iii/paper-52/2/b/ii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 52 2 b ii Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For each of the two normal directions, launch a null geodesic congruence orthogonally from the sphere with initial tangent or . For take initial auxiliary ; for take initial , and then parallel transport as in part (a). On the sphere the resulting screen-space projector projects onto its angular tangent space, whose metric is .
For any radial normal , the spherical null expansion in ingoing coordinates follows directly from area variation:Equivalently gives . ConsequentlySpherical symmetry also makes the null shear and null twist zero for these radial congruences.
There is a small parametrization distinction. The smooth field is affine, since . The natural smooth field obeys . To meet part (a)'s affine convention, use an affine rescaling of a null normal along the outgoing generators, with scaling equal to one on . Its angular derivatives on then leave the projected derivative unchanged. The displayed null expansions are therefore precisely those for the affinely launched congruences, even though that convenient global expression for is nonaffine away from its initial sphere.
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