Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/iii/paper-309/3/b/i/solution

With , direct integration gives
Therefore the time-dependent spatial field is
The gravitational-wave frequency is . On the positive -axis this matrix is transverse and traceless. It is a rotating combination of the plus polarization and cross polarization, with amplitude proportional to , exactly as for a plane wave propagating in the direction.

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