Encoding the Einstein equations into an algebraic commutator condition

Abstract We show that the structure of the Lorentz group in four dimensions is such that unimodular (trace-free) gravity can be consistently represented as an algebraic condition on the symmetric product space of 2-forms. This condition states that the commutator between the Riemann tensor and the Hodge dual must be equal to the commutator between the Kulkarni–Nomizu product of the energy-momentum and the metric with the Hodge dual; symbolically, <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo stretchy="false">[</mml:mo> <mml:mtext>Riem</mml:mtext> <mml:msup> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:mo>⋆</mml:mo> </mml:msup> <mml:mo stretchy="false">]</mml:mo> <mml:mo>=</mml:mo> <mml:mn>4</mml:mn> <mml:mi>π</mml:mi> <mml:mo stretchy="false">[</mml:mo> <mml:mi>T</mml:mi> <mml:mo>◯</mml:mo> <mml:mspace width="-10pt"/> <mml:mo>∧</mml:mo> <mml:mspace width="2pt"/> <mml:mstyle scriptlevel="0"/> <mml:mi>g</mml:mi> <mml:msup> <mml:mo>,</mml:mo> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>⋆</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msup> <mml:mo stretchy="false">]</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> . We show that this condition is equivalent to the trace-free field equations, that the right-hand-side vanishes if and only if the energy-momentum tensor vanishes (recovering the appropriate Einstein spacetime limit) and that this condition can be solved for electrovacuum in the spherically symmetric ansatz to yield Reissner–Nordström–de Sitter uniquely. This analysis suggests that the conceptual distinction between unimodular gravity and General Relativity is one of emphasis on how irreducible representations of the Riemann tensor are constrained by the existence of energy-momentum and the associated field equations.