The N--P and 1+1+2 correspondence

Abstract

In this letter, we establish a complete correspondence between the Newman--Penrose and 1+1+2 semitetrad covariant formalisms by expressing all Newman--Penrose spin coefficients, Ricci scalars, and Weyl scalars in terms of the scalar, vector, and tensor variables of the 1+1+2 decomposition. This provides a direct dictionary between two widely used approaches to general relativity and gives a geometrical interpretation of Newman--Penrose quantities in terms of covariantly defined 1+1+2 variables. As an application, we derive necessary conditions for the existence of future outer trapping horizons in locally rotationally symmetric class II spacetimes, expressed in terms of the Ricci and Weyl Newman--Penrose scalars and the cosmological constant.