Gravitational waves in a de Sitter universe

Abstract

The construction of exact linearized solutions to the Einstein equations within the Bondi-Sachs formalism is extended to the case of linearization about de Sitter spacetime. The gravitational wave field measured by distant observers is constructed, leading to a determination of the energy measured by such observers. It is found that gravitational wave energy conservation does not normally apply to inertial observers, but that it can be formulated for a class of accelerated observers, i.e. with worldlines that are timelike but not geodesic.