## Thursday, 9 July 2020

### Kruskal coordinates and the maximally extended Schwarzschild solution

Kruskal coordinates $\left(T,R,\theta,\phi\right)$ are called 'maximally extended' because they cover the whole spacetime except the true singularity at $r=0$. Indeed, they find some remarkable new regions of spacetime! The history of the discoveries spans 45 years from Einstein and Schwarzschild (1915) to Kruskal (1960).

The Kruskal coordinates are related to Schwarzschild coordinates $\left(t,r,\theta,\phi\right)$ by $$T=\left(\frac{r}{R_s}-1\right)^{1/2}e^\frac{r}{2R_s}\sinh{\left(\frac{t}{2R_s}\right)}$$
$$R=\left(\frac{r}{R_s}-1\right)^{1/2}e^\frac{r}{2R_s}\cosh{\left(\frac{t}{2R_s}\right)}$$and give a metric equation$${ds}^2=\frac{4{R_s}^3}{r}e^{-\frac{r}{R_s}}\left(-dT^2+dR^2\right)+r^2{d\Omega}^2$$with $r$ implicitly defined from$$T^2-R^2=\left(1-\frac{r}{R_s}\right)e^{r/R_s}$$From these we can draw a Kruskal diagram  showing lines of constant $t$ and $r$ and light cones which miraculously are always at 45° just like in flat spacetime.

The regions above the upper $r=0$ line and below the lower $r=0$ line are not part of spacetime. ($r<0$ and $t>+\infty$ or $t<-\infty$ in them). The rest of the diagram is divided into four regions.

I    Right quarter. Normal space time outside the event horizon.👍
II   Below the upper $r=0$ line and above the upper $r=R_s$ lines. Inside the event horizon.👎
III  Above the lower $r=0$ line and below the lower $r=R_s$ lines. The white hole.💣
IV  Left quarter. The unreachable mirror image of normal space time.👻

The red light cones, which are always at 45°, are informative. In region I you can always maintain a fixed $r$ and you can always move up towards and into region II. You can never get into regions III or IV. Once in region II it is impossible to maintain constant $r$ because lines of constant $r$ are always flatter than 45° so you inevitably arrive at $r=0$. Region IV is like region I and you can only get to region II from it. Carroll says region III is a the time reverse of II and can be thought of as a white hole. "There is a singularity in the past, out of which the universe appears to spring". Things can only come out of it. They can just get directly to II through the origin, more likely they will go into I or IV.

Regions II and III are allowed even though $t>+\infty$ in II and $t<-\infty$ in III.

Although region I and region IV are mutually unreachable, if an intrepid explorer went from region I into region II, they would be able to see some things that had happened in region IV. Likewise an explorer from region IV could have a brief look at region I before perishing.

Find out how to get to Kruskal and a few other things in Commentary 5.7 Kruskal coordinates.pdf (11 pages).