A reformulation of the Barrabes-Israel null-shell formalism

Abstract

We consider a situation in which two metrics are joined at a null hypersurface. It often occurs that the union of the two metrics gives rise to a Ricci tensor that contains a term proportional to a Dirac delta-function supported on the hypersurface. This singularity is associated with a thin distribution of matter on the hypersurface, and following Barrabes and Israel, we seek to determine its stress-energy tensor in terms of the geometric properties of the null hypersurface. While our treatment here does not deviate strongly from their previous work, it offers a simplification of the computational operations involved in a typical application of the formalism, and it gives rise to a stress-energy tensor that possesses a more recognizable phenomenology. Our reformulation of the null-shell formalism makes systematic use of the null generators of the singular hypersurface, which define a preferred flow to which the flow of matter can be compared. This construction provides the stress-energy tensor with a simple characterization in terms of a mass density, a mass current, and an isotropic pressure. Our reformulation also involves a family of freely-moving observers that intersect the surface layer and perform measurements on it. This construction gives operational meaning to the stress-energy tensor by fixing the argument of the delta-function to be proper time as measured by these observers.