REVIEW
A point mass in an isotropic universe. Existence, uniqueness and basic properties
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Submitted 12 May 1998 · 25 references
Pith's verdict: The Hawking-mass diagnostic that kills McVittie's k=-1 solution is the real contribution, and it holds up; the existence proof is sound, with §V-D the one place the interpretation outruns the derivation.
T0 · AI review
Why Pith says this
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Referee report
The paper
The paper claims
A point mass can be embedded in an open, negatively curved Robertson–Walker universe, but McVittie's 1933 metric for that case is not the solution: its quasi-local mass diverges at infinity.
The reading
What carries the argument
Three pieces carry the argument. First, the Hawking quasi-local mass $M_2(S)$, defined by integrating $-Psi_2 - sigma lambda$ over a spacelike two-sphere and then taking the limit to future null infinity; it is the tool that converts a vague phrase ('represents a point mass in a Robertson–Walker universe') into a number that either stays finite or does not. Second, the reduction of the shear-free spherically symmetric perfect fluid field equations to the single equation $e^{mu/2}(mu'' - tfrac12 mu'^2 - tfrac{h'}{h}mu') = 6m_0 h^{-3}$, or in the transformed variables $y_{xx} = G(x)y^2$, which turns an existence question about Einstein's equations into an existence question about one ODE with a prescribed asymptotic value. Third, the majorant-series existence proof: writing $Y = sum_n delta^n Y_n$ and bounding each term with a geometric sequence derived from the generating function $P(X) = [1 - 2X - sqrt((1-2X)^2 - 4b_0 X)]/(2X)$, Nolan shows uniform convergence for $x$ near infinity, and a regular-singular-point analysis of the linearised equation $Gamma_{xx} = H Gamma$ rules out any second analytic solution with the required decay.
Extended reading notes
Core claim
The paper establishes that the obstruction to embedding a point mass in a $k=-1$ Robertson–Walker universe is a defect of McVittie's particular solution rather than of the problem. Using Hawking's renormalised quasi-local mass $M_2(S)$, Nolan shows that McVittie's $k=0$ metric has $M_2 = m_0$ for every metric sphere, confirming the point-mass reading, while the $k=-1$ metric gives $M_2 = m_0 h^5/w^5$, which grows without bound as $r$ (and hence the affine parameter $v$) goes to infinity. He then proves existence of a different $k=-1$ solution: with $y = e^{-mu/2}$ and $x = w^2$, the field equations reduce to $y_{xx} = G(x)y^2$ with $G(x) = -24m_0(x^2+4x)^{-5/2}$, and a majorant series argument gives a solution obeying $y = e^{-beta(t)/2} + o(1)$ as $x to infinity$, differentiable in $t$, and unique among analytic solutions. The first correction to the background is $e^{mu} = e^{beta}(1 - 4m_0 e^{-beta/2}e^{-3r}) + O(e^{-5r})$, which decays fast enough to keep the mass finite, in contrast to McVittie's $e^{-r/2}$ falloff.
Load-bearing premise
The author restricts to shear-free fluid flow purely because it makes the field equations integrable, and says outright that there is no a priori reason to set the shear to zero; without that restriction the reduction to the single equation $y_{xx} = G(x)y^2$ — and therefore the whole existence proof — has no target.
Editorial extensions
If this is right
- The flat and negatively curved open cases can both be said to contain a point mass of mass $m_0$, with the mass identified intrinsically as the constant value of the Hawking quasi-local mass on metric two-spheres.
- Taking $m_0 = 0$ returns the Robertson–Walker background, and taking the expansion to zero returns Schwarzschild with mass parameter $m_0$, so the solution interpolates between the two standard limits in a single one-parameter family.
- The Misner–Sharp energy takes the clean form $E = tfrac{4pi}{3}R^3 rho(t) + m_0$, so the presence of the particle raises the gravitational energy by exactly its mass, and the central singularity is spacelike and trapped as in Schwarzschild.
- Because the construction only needs $G(x) = O(x^{-5})$, the same existence argument covers more general spherical sources embedded in a Robertson–Walker universe, not just the exactly constant-mass case.
- The background cosmology can be recovered from an arbitrary spherically symmetric shear-free perfect fluid by computing its Hawking mass: a non-constant result rules out the point-mass interpretation, and a constant one identifies the background.
Reading between the lines
- The constant-Hawking-mass condition is a strong selection rule: it forces the energy density to be spatially homogeneous, $F(r) = 6m_0 h^{-3}$, so the paper is really characterising the unique shear-free spherical perfect fluid that is exactly a point mass in a cosmological background with no extra matter anywhere else.
- The negative first-order pressure perturbation in the $k=-1$ case, $8pi p = 8pi p_0 + (ddot{beta} + 2e^{-beta})m_0 e^{-beta/2}e^{-3r} + O(e^{-5r})$, is flagged by the author as possibly an effect of negative spatial curvature; computing the next order would settle whether the central mass ever makes a net positive pressure contribution as it does in Newtonian cosmology and in the $k=0$ solution.
- Because the existence proof only uses the decay rate $G = O(x^{-5})$, the same machinery should extend to any compact source whose exterior Weyl curvature falls off at least that fast, which suggests a general existence theorem for localised sources in open Robertson–Walker backgrounds.
- The paper leaves the global structure — horizon, singularity, and whether the spacetime is black-hole or white-hole type — to a promised sequel, so the causal status of the central singularity is currently asserted only locally, via Hayward's criterion.
Original abstract
Criteria which a space-time must satisfy to represent a point mass embedded in an open Robertson--Walker (RW) universe are given. It is shown that McVittie's solution in the case $k=0$ satisfies these criteria, but does not in the case $k=-1$. Existence of a solution for the case $k=-1$ is proven and its representation in terms of an elliptic integral is given. The following properties of this and McVittie's $k=0$ solution are studied; uniqueness, behaviour at future null infinity, recovery of the RW and Schwarzschild limits, compliance with energy conditions and the occurence of singularities. Existence of solutions representing more general spherical objects embedded in a RW universe is also proven.
The compiled record
The paper's own sentences, arranged, kept beside the review and separate from it. Each label is drawn from a closed vocabulary; the number beside it is the probability the classifier gave that label. Numbers in the tables are the authors', checked by code. No sentence in this record was written by a model.
The abstract, sentence by sentence
Criteria which a space-time must satisfy to represent a point mass embedded in an open Robertson--Walker (RW) universe are given. It is shown that McVittie's solution in the case $k=0$ satisfies these criteria, but does not in the case $k=-1$. Existence of a solution for the case $k=-1$ is proven and its representation in terms of an elliptic integral is given. The following properties of this and McVittie's $k=0$ solution are studied; uniqueness, behaviour at future null infinity, recovery of the RW and Schwarzschild limits, compliance with energy conditions and the occurence of singularities. Existence of solutions representing more general spherical objects embedded in a RW universe is also proven.
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | Criteria which a space-time must satisfy to represent a point mass embedded in an open Robertson--Walker (RW) universe are given. | contribution 0.87 | 0.79 | 0.06 | asserted 0.95 |
| s1 | It is shown that McVittie's solution in the case $k=0$ satisfies these criteria, but does not in the case $k=-1$. | result 0.95 | 0.83 | 0.16 | asserted 1.00 |
| s2 | Existence of a solution for the case $k=-1$ is proven and its representation in terms of an elliptic integral is given. | result 0.67 | 0.94 | 0.26 | asserted 1.00 |
| s3 | The following properties of this and McVittie's $k=0$ solution are studied; uniqueness, behaviour at future null infinity, recovery of the RW and Schwarzschild limits, compliance with energy conditions and the occurence of singularities. | contribution 0.99 | 0.92 | 0.11 | asserted 0.93 |
| s4 | Existence of solutions representing more general spherical objects embedded in a RW universe is also proven. | result 0.71 | 0.91 | 0.12 | asserted 1.00 |
What was examined, and what was not
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References
How the literature uses it
34 arXiv papers cite this in 46 sentences
Papers citing it · 20 sentences without a confident label
Contests it 1 paper
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The well-known McVittie solution [ref] has several shortcomings: it describes a non-accreting black hole and, beyond the special case of Schwarzschild-de Sitter, it features a spatially homogeneous energy density while the pressure is inhomogeneous [ref] .
Evolving black hole with scalar field accretion · Introduction · contest 0.84
Cites it as background 22 papers
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A central mass embedded in an expanding universe is described naturally by the McVittie generalization of the FLRW spacetime [ref] .
Rainbow McVittie Horizons in an Expanding Universe · Introduction · 0.91
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The metric embeds a central Schwarzschild mass in a homogeneous FLRW background without radial accretion [ref] .
Optimal Extension Regularity at the McVittie Event Horizon · Introduction · 0.93
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The McVittie geometry [ref] describes a black hole in an expanding universe.[See Nolan's articles [ref] on properties of the McVittie solution and a criticism in Ref. [ref] .
Shadows of black holes at cosmological distances in the co-varying physical couplings framework · McVittie black hole in the CPC framework · 0.94
Discussion
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