Einstein's 1916 derivation of the Field Equations

Abstract

In his first November 4, 1915 paper Einstein wrote the Lagrangian form of his field equations. In the fourth November 25, 1915 paper, Einstein added a trace term of the energy-momentum tensor on the right-hand side of the generally covariant field equations. The main purpose of the present work is to show that in November 4, 1915, Einstein had already explored much of the main ingredients that were required for the formulation of the final form of the field equations of November 25, 1915. The present work suggests that the idea of adding the second-term on the right-hand side of the field equation might have originated in reconsideration of the November 4, 1915 field equations. In this regard, the final form of Einstein's field equations with the trace term may be linked with his work of November 4, 1915. The interesting history of the derivation of the final form of the field equations is inspired by the exchange of letters between Einstein and Paul Ehrenfest in winter 1916 and by Einstein's 1916 derivation of the November 25, 1915 field equations.