Past exam of the relativity course of the University of Cambridge 2021 Section B 6 b Solution 2026-10-18
Put and . Radial null geodesics of the Schwarzschild metric obeyNear the horizon, satisfies describes the exterior and the interior. The exponential approach in Schwarzschild coordinate time resembles part (a), but is not a proper radial distance.
Outside, set and retain the leading near-horizon terms. The radial metric becomes the Rindler limit of a Schwarzschild horizon:It agrees with part (a) for , . Accordingly , while explains the factor two in its exponent.
Inside, write . The leading radial metric is insteadHere the radial coordinate is timelike and the Schwarzschild coordinate is spacelike. Thus in the Rindler metric does not represent the black-hole interior: stays positive on both Rindler wedges. In the black-hole interior all future-directed radial light rays move towards decreasing ; the two signs of do not mean opposite future radial directions because is no longer time.
The horizon is a coordinate singularity in Schwarzschild coordinates and in the accelerated chart, not a curvature singularity. The full Schwarzschild geometry nevertheless has genuine tidal forces; the flat Rindler metric captures its leading local radial near-horizon structure.