Reformulation of Einstein equations in the fully constrained formulation: Local-uniqueness, post-Newtonian expansion, and initial data
Phys. Rev. D 112, 024057 – Published 24 July, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/tbz7-hpcy
Abstract
Einstein equations can be written in the so-called fully constrained formulation (FCF). This formulation has two different sectors: the elliptic sector, formed by the Hamiltonian and momentum constraints together with the equations derived from the gauge choice; and the hyperbolic sector, formed by the evolution of the rest of the spacetime metric variables, which encodes the gravitational radiation. In this work, we present a modification of both sectors that keeps local uniqueness properties of the elliptic system of equations and includes a hierarchical post-Newtonian structure of all the elliptic and hyperbolic equations. This reformulation can have potential applications in cosmology and relativistic astrophysics. Moreover, we show how initial stationary data can be computed numerically using this formulation without assuming a conformally flat spatial metric, with the illustrative example of a rotating neutron star.
