Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 312 3 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Evaluate the metric inner products of the proposed orthonormal tetrad to first order in the vector cosmological perturbation:The orthonormal tetrad therefore has metric signature to the required order. Put and . The photon momentum components areThey satisfy the null vector condition to first order, with .
Use as parameter in the time component of the geodesic equation:The derivative of the direction is first order, since the background photon moves on a straight comoving line; is consequently second order. With ,The supplied Levi-Civita connection coefficients giveThe spatial gradients and all background expansion terms cancel. Since vanishes in the background, its product with is also second order. The photon energy redshift from a vector metric perturbation is thereforeAn independent check uses the covariant component . The covariant geodesic equation gives ; the conformal expansion term vanishes by the null vector condition and reproduces the same result.
For the metric in vector cosmological perturbation, an orthonormal tetrad is , to first order. A photon has and , so the covariant component is . The covariant geodesic equation gives . The derivative of the scale factor cancels by the null vector condition, proving the redshift formula.