Mass loss due to gravitational waves with a cosmological constant

Abstract

The theoretical basis for the energy carried away by gravitational waves that an isolated gravitating system emits was first formulated by Hermann Bondi during the 1960s. Recent findings from looking at distant supernovae reveal that the rate of expansion of our Universe is accelerating, which may be well-explained by including a positive cosmological constant into the Einstein field equations for general relativity. By solving the Newman-Penrose equations (which are equivalent to the Einstein field equations), we generalise this notion of Bondi mass-energy and thereby provide a firm theoretical description of how an isolated gravitating system loses energy as it radiates gravitational waves in a Universe that expands at an accelerated rate.