The Newtonian limit for perfect fluids

Abstract

We prove that there exists a class of non-stationary solutions to the Einstein-Euler equations which have a Newtonian limit. The proof of this result is based on a symmetric hyperbolic formulation of the Einstein-Euler equations which contains a singular parameter $\ep = v_T/c$ where $v_T$ is a characteristic velocity scale associated with the fluid and $c$ is the speed of light. The symmetric hyperbolic formulation allows us to derive $\ep$ independent energy estimates on weighted Sobolev spaces. These estimates are the main tool used to analyze the behavior of solutions in the limit $\ep \searrow 0$.