Synchronous gauge in cosmology

Synchronous gauge sets the lapse and shift perturbations to zero, $h_{0\mu }=0$. Its coordinates follow freely falling observers, but residual coordinate freedom produces gauge modes that must be distinguished from physical perturbations.

Define $\delta g_{ij}=a^2{h}_{ij}$ and $h_{ij}=h{\delta }_{ij}/3+({\hat{k}}_i{\hat{k}}_j-{\delta }_{ij}/3)h_S$. Under the passive coordinate shift $\tilde{\tau }=\tau +T{e}^{i\mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{x}}$ and ${\tilde{x}}^i=x^i+i{\hat{k}}^{i}L{e}^{i\mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{x}}$, removing the traceless spatial perturbation gives $L=h_S/(2k)$. Removing the mixed time-space metric gives $T=L^{\prime }/k=h_S^{\prime }/(2k^2)$. The remaining diagonal metric components are the displayed Newtonian potentials. This sign convention is opposite to defining the synchronous perturbation by $g_{ij}=-a^2({\delta }_{ij}+h_{ij})$.

Let $q=\mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{n}$, $E=e^{iq(\tau -{\tau }_0)}$ and $T=h_S^{\prime }/(2k^2)$. The synchronous-to-Newtonian transformation with positive spatial perturbations gives $(h^{\prime }-h_S^{\prime })/6={\Phi }^{\prime }+{\Psi }^{\prime }+T^{\prime \prime }$. Since $[E(T^{\prime }-iqT){]}^{\prime }=E(T^{\prime \prime }+q^{2}T)$, the displayed identity follows by integration. The emission endpoint combines intrinsic and velocity shifts into the ordinary Sachs-Wolfe effect; the local observer endpoint is a monopole plus a dipole. Without anisotropic stress the remaining integral is the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect, $2\int E{\Phi }^{\prime }d\tau$. The angular term in the synchronous contraction is positive for this metric convention.

For the FRW metric in conformal time, a displacement ${\xi }^{\mu }=(\alpha ,{\xi }^i)$ changes a raw metric perturbation by $q_{\mu \nu }\mapsto q_{\mu \nu }-{\mathcal{L}}_{\xi }{\bar{g}}_{\mu \nu }$. The displayed first-order time equations set the lapse and shift perturbations to zero. They can be integrated locally for smooth perturbations, demonstrating accessibility of synchronous gauge in cosmology. Their homogeneous solutions leave residual spatial functions, so the gauge is not fully fixed. A globally regular synchronous chart need not survive caustics of its freely falling congruence.

For constant $P=w\rho$, the perfect fluid stress tensor and inverse perturbed spatial metric give $T^{ij}=a^{-2}w\bar{\rho }[(1+\delta ){\delta }^{ij}-h^{ij}]$ at first order. Normalizing the velocity makes $u^0=a^{-1}$ at this order. Stress-energy conservation yields the synchronous perfect-fluid density equation and Cosmological Euler equation in synchronous gauge; the pressure projection includes $v_i{\bar{P}}^{\prime }$, which changes the velocity damping from $\mathcal{H}$ to $(1-3w)\mathcal{H}$.

// Target: cosmology.bigb

For constant $P=w\rho$ and velocity potential $v_i=i{k}_i\theta$, stress-energy conservation gives the displayed density equation in synchronous gauge in cosmology. Here $h$ is the trace of the spatial metric perturbation, and primes denote conformal time. In particular cold baryons obey ${\delta }_b^{\prime }=k^2{\theta }_b-h^{\prime }/2$. A positive sign in front of $k^2{\theta }_b$ on the left contradicts this potential convention.

Preserving $\Psi =B=0$ under the scalar gauge transformations with a background lapse requires $\bar{N}{\xi }^0=C(\mathbf{x})$ and $\dot{\lambda }=C(\mathbf{x})\bar{N}/a^2$. Thus arbitrary spatial functions $C,D$ remain after imposing synchronous gauge in cosmology. This freedom can generate changes in the remaining scalar metric perturbations.

A residual synchronous time displacement ${\xi }^0=C(\mathbf{x})/a$ changes a fluid density contrast by $-{\bar{\rho }}^{\prime }{\xi }^0/\bar{\rho }$. For constant equation of state this gives the displayed mode: it scales as ${\tau }^{-2}$ during radiation domination and as ${\tau }^{-3}$ during matter domination. Such density changes alone do not indicate physical structure growth. Choosing the cold-matter rest frame fixes the residual time displacement, while a spatial relabeling fixes the remaining integration convention for the metric trace.

For scalar perturbations of a generic fluid in cosmic time, momentum conservation in synchronous gauge in cosmology gives