A novel characterisation of gravitational radiation in asymptotically flat space-times

Abstract

A novel criterion to determine the presence of gravitational radiation arriving to, or departing from, null infinity of any weakly asymptotically-simple space-time with vanishing cosmological constant is given. The quantities involved are geometric, of tidal nature, with good gauge behaviour and univocally defined at null infinity. The relationship with the classical characterisation using the News tensor is analysed in detail. A new balance law at infinity is presented, which may be useful to define `radiation states'.