Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 58 2 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For the synchronous-to-Newtonian scalar Fourier transformation, the coefficient of in the transformed spatial metric perturbation must vanish. Thus . Vanishing shift then gives . For these conditions fixThe lapse in conformal Newtonian gauge is , soThe remaining coefficient of isgivingThe homogeneous perturbation requires separate background-coordinate choices; the inverse powers of do not define a transformation for it.
Synchronous-to-Newtonian transformation with positive spatial perturbations Created 2026-10-14 Updated 2026-11-05
Fix the background signature and define a positive spatial metric perturbation by . Thus the synchronous line element isFor a nonzero Fourier mode, take the passive displacement and . The transformed scalar shear is , so setting it to zero gives . Removing the mixed metric term gives .
Define the resulting Newtonian gauge line element as . Its potentials areThese signs follow directly from the linear metric gauge-transformation law. Positive here corresponds to a minus sign for inside the spatial parentheses. The synchronous-to-Newtonian scalar Fourier transformation uses a different explicit background/spatial-amplitude convention. Its displacement signs must be translated along with that convention. The present definitions also fix the signs in the photon redshift identity with positive spatial perturbations.