Rastall's gravity equations and Mach's Principle

Abstract

Rastall generalized Einstein's field equations relaxing the Einstein's assumption that the covariant divergence of the energy-momentum tensor should vanish. His field equations contain a free parameter alpha and in an empty space, i.e. if T_{\mu\nu}=0, they reduce to the Einstein's equations of standard general relativity. We calculate the elements of the metric tensor given by Rastall' equations for different \alpha assuming that T_{\mu\nu} to be that of a perfect fluid and analyse these model solutions from the point of view of Mach's principle. Since the source terms in Rastall's modified gravity equations include the common energy-momentum tensor T_{\mu\nu} as well as the expressions of the form (1-\alpha)g_{\mu\nu}T/2, these source terms depend on metric determined by the mass and momentum distribution of the external space. Likewise, in the classical limit, the source term of the corresponding Poisson equation for \alpha\neq 1 depends on the gravitational potential in the sense of Mach's principle.