PHYSICAL REVIEW D VOLUME 48, NUMBER 12 15 DECEMBER 1993

Frenet-Serret description of gyroscopic precession

B. R. Iyer*
Baman Research Institute, Bangalore 560080, India

C. V. Vishveshwarat
Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore 56008$, India
(Received 8 June 1993)

The phenomenon of gyroscopic precession is studied within the framework of the Frenet-Serret
formalism adapted to quasi-Killing trajectories. Its relation to the congruence vorticity is high-
lighted with particular reference to the irrotational congruence admitted by the stationary, ax-
isymmetric spacetime. General precession formulas are obtained for circular orbits with arbitrary
constant angular speeds. By successive reduction, di8'erent types of precessions are derived for the
Kerr-Schwarzschild-Minkowski spacetime family. The phenomenon is studied in the case of other
interesting spacetimes, such as the de Sitter and Godel universes as well as the general stationary,
cylindrical, vacuum spacetimes.
PACS number(s): 04.20.Me

I. INTR. QDUCTION irrotational congruence admitted by the Kerr spacetime.

With the help of this extended formalism, a broad based
The phenomenon of rotation exhibits interesting and
framework is provided for the study of gyroscope preces-
often intriguing physical eKects. This is even more so
sion in a variety of circumstances.
within the framework of the general theory of relativity
which leads to novel features.
' The present; paper is organized as follows. In Sec. II,
These features, for in-
we discuss the application of the Prenet-Serret formalism
stance, are built into the structure of spacetime, such as
that of a rotating black hole. Dragging of inertial frames to the quasi-Killing trajectories, precession of gyroscopes
is a typical example of rotational efI'ects incorporated into
transported along them and its relation to the vortic-
the spacetime structure. Such efI'ects also manifest them- ity of the congruence. Section III considers the station-
selves in the intrinsic aspects of particle motion and re- ary, axially symmetric spacetimes and concentrates on
the globally timelike Killing trajectories followed by sta-
lated phenomena such as the gyroscope precession. These
tionary observers. Specializing to the Kerr spacetime,
aspects can be elegantly studied by the invariant geomet-
the gyroscopic precession with respect to the station-
rical description of particle trajectories that follow the di-
ary observer a direct manifestation of inertial frame
rections of spacetime symmetries, or Killing vector fields,
provided of course that the spacetime admits such sym- dragging is displayed. By using rotating coordinates,
metries. This is accomplished by adopting the Frenet- gyroscopic precession along circular orbits with arbitrary
constant angular speeds is investigated in Sec. IV. The
Serret formalism to characterize the Killing trajectories
of a four-dimensional spacetime. Of the three geomet- general formulas derived are first applied to the Kerr
ric parameters basic to this formalism, the curvature is spacetime to obtain particle acceleration and gyroscopic
identified with the particle acceleration, while the two precession without approximation. Then by successive
torsions are directly related to the gyroscope precession. specialization, we obtain the SchifI' precession, preces-
Furthermore, the Prenet-Serret tetrad provides a conve- sion in the Schwarzschild spacetime with Fokker — de Sit-
nient reference frame for the description of all relevant ter precession as a particular example, and Thomas pre-
Therefore, when the formalism is cession in Minkowski spacetime. The irrotational congru-
physical phenomena.
ence is discussed and the Frenet-Serret parameters are
applied to the timelike integral curves of spacetime sym-
metries, the phenomenon of gyroscope precession can be derived for the corresponding trajectories. The general
formalism is also applied to de Sitter spacetime. Section
completely analyzed in a natural and cogent manner.
The Prenet-Serret formalism applied to the Killing tra- V treats in detail the general case of stationary cylin-
jectories can be extended in a straightforward manner to drically symmetric spacetimes where the general quasi-
what we may term as a quasi-Killing congruence. This Killing trajectories are helical orbits. Included in this
congruence consists of timelike curves following the di- study as special cases are the Godel universe and the
rection given by a combination of Killing vectors with general vacuum metrics as given by Vishveshwara and
nonconstant coeKcients. An important example is the Winicour. Section VI comprises a summary and con-
cluding remarks.
Starting from Thomas precession, gyroscopic preces-
sion has been studied extensively by difI'erent approaches
*Electronic address: brirri. ernet. in both in special and general relativity [1—6]. We have pre-
Electronic address: vishuiiap. ernet. in sented here a unified, covariant, geometric treatment of

0556-2821/93/48(12)/5706(15)/$06. 00 5706 1993 The American Physical Society

48 FRENET-SERRET DESCRIPTION OF GYROSCOPIC PRECESSION 5707

this remarkable phenomenon. Furthermore, in this treat- ——V

e(0) e(1),
ment computations can be made in a straightforward and
complete manner. We have also highlighted the interrela- e{1) = KC(0) + rle(2)
tions among quantities such as vorticity, precession, and &(2)
— rl &(1) + r2 &(3),
Frenet-Serret torsions. In addition to the general formu- — r2 t-(2
t-(3) (8)
las, exact expressions have been presented pertaining to
special and physically significant spacetimes. It is hoped where v is the curvature and rl, r2 the first and second
that the discussions and formalism of this paper ofFer ad- torsions, respectively. The Frenet-Serret equations (8)
ditional insight into the phenomenon of gyroscopic pre- together with Eqs. (5) —(7) imply, as in the Killing case,
cession and that the formulas derived can be of use for that along trajectories of y the Frenet-Serret invariants
further elucidation and astrophysical applications.
v, rl, and r2 are constants and the Frenet-Serret basis
Our metric signature is (+, —,—,—). Spacetime vectors e(. satisfy a I.orentz-like equation:
indices are denoted by latin letters a, b, . . . , m, n, . . . , )
and run over 0, 1, 2, 3 while spatial indices are de-
noted by greek letters o. , P, . . . , p, v, . . . , and run
r =rl —r2 —0, (9)
over 1, 2, 3. The corresponding tetrad [triad] in- ~
a —F z, a b
e(,.) be(, ). (10)
dices are indicated by enclosing them in parentheses:
(~)(~) "(~)(n) "[(~)(&)" (~)(~) "]. Note that Fb g e~ y, g. As before [7, 8],

K
2 = E2b e(0)
a b
e(o),
II. THE QUASI-KILLING TRAJECTORIES
ah
A. The Frenet-Serret formalism 71
2 = K
2 (0) (0)
(12)
K

In [7, 8] it was shown that the Frenet-Serret formal- (K —'ri ) ub (0) (o)
ism has some attractive formal properties in the case
1 1
of Killing trajectories that find elegant applications in
black hole geometries. We show below how these prop- where
erties obtain in a more general case, which we call the
quasi-Killing case. Consider a spacetime with a timelike
Killing vector $ and a set of spacelike Killing vectors gl~l
(F") g=F 'F ' . F, a.
Moreover
(A = 1, 2, . . . , m). The combination
1 a 2 2 2
2F b+ab 1 2
X = ( + ~(~)'Ql~l&
Before proceeding further we may mention some ex-
where summation over (A) is implied and arnples of quasi-Killing congruences given by (1). In
the stationary axisymmetric spacetime vy can be cho-
(2) sen as the axial Killing vector with w an arbitrary
function of r and 0 in adapted coordinates. For in-
is called a quasi-Killing vector. The terminology is jus- stance, u can be chosen to make the congruence ei-
tified for our usage since as in the Killing case it follows ther geodesic or irrotational. Spatially these will rep-
that, if u is the four-velocity associated with y (where resent circular orbits. In cylindrically symmetric space-
it is timelike) obtained by normalizing y, times in addition to the axial Killing vector we can
add on the Killing vector generating z translations with
e(, ) ——u = e+g, coeKcients as arbitrary functions of p in adapted coor-
dinates. Spatially these will represent helical orbits. In
then spacetimes admitting other spatial Killing vectors such as
e '"=X.X, .
4, g =O,
de Sitter and Godel Universes more complicated quasi-
Killing congruences can be generated whose spatial pro-
and jections would not be simple curves such as circles or
~
a a b ~a b
helices. Along any particular trajectory belonging to a
quasi-Killing congruence u is a constant. With refer-
where ence to the congruence in which a trajectory is embed-
ded we may call such a curve a quasi-Killing trajectory.
(( 6+ ~(Al 9'(Al .b) . Of course, if u(~) are constants then ~ defines a Killing
trajectory.
It is easy to show, using the Killing equation and the
relation (~.q. = B~g~g , ("
for any Killing vector g, that
B. Frenet-Serret torsions and gyroscopic precession
E b ——I'b, E b —0.
The transport law for an observer whose tetrad moves
Recall that the Frenet-Serret equations are [7, 8] along an arbitraryworld line is written as [9]
5708 B. R. IYER AND C. V. VISHVESHWARA

a congruence of curves is deBned the notion of vorticity,

= —nbe(, ), (16)
DT (e(,)) which geometrically measures the twisting of the con-
gruence. The gyroscopic precession along a trajectory is
where 0 decomposes into a Fermi-Walker piece and a related to the vorticity of the congruence. In this sec-
spatial rotation tion we shall explore this relation in some detail. It was
+ shown in [7] that the Frenet-Serret rotation for a trajec-
(FM) ~(SR)
tory belonging to the Killing congruence is equal to the
FM (i7) vorticity of the congruence. Consequently, the gyroscopic
~ab precession for a Killing trajectory is determined by the
"(SR) —~c
cdab
vorticity of the Killing congruence.
In the above, w is a vector orthogonal to the four ve- As we shall show below, in this respect, the quasi-
locity u . It is possible to choose the time axis of the Killing case differs from the Killing one. The vorticity
tetrad along the four-velocity of the arbitrary world line of a congruence is deBned as
consistent with the transport law equations (16) and (17)
and following [9] we restrict ourselves to such tetrads. If 0 2v' —g
abed
e(o) b e(o);d
a frame f(b) is Fermi-Walker transported along the same
world line the spatial triad of e( ) rotates relative to the 1 abed
e(o) b +d + e ~(~),d g(~} (23)
spatial triad of f( } with angular velocity w, i.e. , 2g —g
a
D FS) + D ab e(o)b~ (24)
D~ ( (v) (~)) (~) (i8)
where
Comparing the Frenet-Serret equations (8) with the Dab abed
D cd
transport equations (16)—(18) it is easy to verify that the 2g —g
')

Frenet-Serret frame rotates with respect to the Fermi- D = e co(~) (A)

Walker transported frame by
d [d 'g ~
(25)
and antisymmetrization is defined as
4P(FS): T2 e(y) + 7y e(3) .
A[~b]: 2 (Aab Abg).
The Fermi-Walker frame is physically realized by a
system of gyroscopes and hence the gyroscopic preces- As is well known, physically, vorticity 0 represents the
sion relative to the Frenet-Serret frame, one of the most angular velocity of the connecting vector with respect to
natural and intrinsic frames associated with an arbitrary an orthonormal spatial frame Fermi-Walker transported
curve, is given by — ' along the congruence [10, 11]. On the other hand, Frenet-
m(FS).
Serret rotation ~ FS represents precession of the intrin-
+(g) = ~(FS) = ( 2 (~) + ~ (s))' (20) sic Frenet-Serret frame with respect to the nonrotating
Fermi-Walker frame. In general, for example, in the
Further, using the Frenet-Serret equation (8) one can quasi-Killing case, the two are not the same. Therefore
prove the gyroscopic precession along a quasi-Killing trajectory

:
a difFers from the rotation of the connecting vector of the
M(FS): E
ab
e (p) b (21) corresponding quasi-Killing congruence. However, from
where E— — &
e "Ecd is the dual to I"cd. We refer Eq. (23) it follows that if ur(&) are constants, the con-
gruence y becomes Killing, 0 = ~ FS, and the gy-
to w(FS) as Frenet-Serret rotation. It should be noted
that m(FS) is defined along one given curve. It is not tied roscopic precession is locked on to the rotation of the
connecting vector [12].
to the existence of a congruence. It gives the rotation
of the Frenet-Serret frame relative to the Fermi-Walker The above difference between the two cases, namely,
Killing and quasi-Killing, may also be understood by ex-
transported frame.
amining the Lie derivative of the basis vectors along e(p)
We may mention in passing that from Eqs. (8) and
in the two cases. In the Killing case
(10) we have
Ke(1} —E be(0) (22) (26)
which indicates that in analogy with electromagnetism so that modulo e(o) (i.e. , if one projects normal to e(o))
E be(p} can be interpreted as the gravielectric Beld as the Frenet-Serret frame is Lie dragged along e(p}. In the
seen by the observer with four-velocity e(o). Moreover, quasi-Killing case, on the other hand,
the precession equations (18) and (21) exhibit further
suggestive resemblance to the electromagnetic "spin pre- g e( )
= Ke(p) 8(
(~)
+ e
cession" equations and indicate that E e(p)b is the cor- (o)
)
4 (-) )
responding gravimagnetic field.
x [(rl(~) e(o)) e(p) g(~)] (27)
C. Vorticity and gyroscopic precession so that the Frenet-Serret frame is not Lie dragged along
Given a trajectory it can be viewed as a member of e(p). Recall, that by definition the connecting vector is
a suitable chosen congruence of curves. Associated with always Lie dragged, i.e. ,
48 FRENET-SERRET DESCRIPTION OF GYROSCOPIC PRECESSION 5709

pc=0.
(o)
(28) Equations (33)—(36) completely describe the world line of
a stationary observer and the precession of a gyroscope
In the following sections, we shall discuss particular carried by him. K and w1 are chosen to be positive and
examples to illustrate the application of the above con- 72 taken to be the positive square root of the right-hand
siderations. side of Eq. (35) so that eall, e~2i, e~sl, form a right-
handed triad. We shall now apply these formulas to the
III. STATIONARY AXIALLY SYMMETRIC special case of the Kerr spacetime.
SPACETIMES
In this section we specialize to spacetimes which are A. Kerr spacetime
stationary and axially symmetric. Such spacetimes have
in addition to the timelike Killing vector g, a spacelike The spacetime describing a rotating black hole is the
Killing vector g with closed orbits. Assuming further Kerr solution and its geometry is given by
orthogonal transitivity, in coordinates adapted to the
Killing vectors g and g, the most general form of the ds2 = 1 — dt2 ——dr2 —gdg2
metric may be written as ~

~ ) ~

ds = gppdt + 2gpsdkdp + g33dp + glldr + g22do, 4Mra sin 8

(29) 2M
'
0
where g are functions of r and 0 only.
b
The contravariant components of the metric may be
read oK &om
g33 ~
pity
0l g03 8
A3 Bt 0$
I9
+ goo
&

A3 qBQ)
0
where

4 =—

Substituting
r +a —2Mr; Z—r +a
the above expressions
: cos 0.
for g b in Eqs.

+
/0)' +
1 (cia' (3o)
(33)—(36) and simplifying we obtain
g» (err) I I

where
r = Zs (Ae
+4r a cos Osin 8). 2M' )2
(1
+3 = gpp g33 gp3
2

and 2 M a sin 0
71
2MI" 2
det g = = g» g222 3. (32)
(1 )
b g
1
After a long but straightforward calculation using Eqs. X
(Ae2 + 4r2a4 cos2 0 sin 0)
(ll) —(13) and Eqs. (29)—(32) it follows that along trajec- (39)
tories of the timelike Killing vector g the Frenet-Serret
invariants are given by 4M2a2p2 cos2 0 ~2 1
g3 (Ae + 4r a cos 9 sin 0)
= —4 g (ln goo), (ln goo), b
(40)
11 2
goo, 1 + g 22 goo,
2
2] I
where e = r —a cos 0
4gpp

1
T1 (34) 8 (p) (1, 0, 0, 0),
4+3 [g goo, a goo, b] 2Mr
2
2 — 1 [gpo, l g03, 2 g00, 2 g03, 1] 1
~2— 4+3
(35) 8(1) (0, AeI —2ra 2 8c, 0),
g11g22 [g goo, o. gop, b] QZ(Ae2 + 4r2a4s2c2)
In this case the Frenet-Serret basis is given by
1 C(2)
c(p) (1, 0, 0, 0), ~(1 2MI
)
+goo
a
'(&) = 1
(0I g
11
goo, lI g
22
g00, 2I 0)'I
2Mr )
2K gpp 'I 'I 'I

1
C(2) ( g03I I I goo) I
/goo 3 C
(3) (0, 2ra sc, e, 0), (41)
—(AE + 4r a 8 c )
Qgll g22
'(3}— 2K gpp
(0I g00, 2 I goo, l I 0) ' (36)
where 8 = sinO, c = cos0.
5710 B. R. IYER AND C. V. VISHVESHWARA 48

Equations (38)—(41) show that an observer with fixed where

spatial coordinates, i.e. , a world line following t lines, is = goo + 2~gos + ~ 2 gas =
go'o' +~ (46)
not only accelerated (K g 0) but also has an angular
velocity relative to the local standards of nonrotation re- gP'3' = gP3 + ~g33 = ~& (47)
alized by a set of gyroscopes. This is a manifestation of g3~3~ = g33& (48)
the dragging phenomenon in the Kerr spacetime. For an
observer on the equatorial plane 0 = n/2 it reduces to (1, 0, 0, 0) is a Killing
vector of this metric and
we can use Eqs. (33)—(35) to obtain
K, rl, and r2 along
M f 2M) this world line. However, g' corresponds to g + cup in
rs (42) the unprimed coordinates so that we can compute r, ~q,
r ) and r2 along trajectories g + farl by rePlacing gpp, gp3,
(43)
and gss in Eqs. (38)—(40) by gp o, gp 2, and gs 2 . More
The bases vectors of the Frenet-Serret frame of the sta- importantly the prescription also works in cases where ~
tionary observer (g lines) are always pointed to the same is not a constant but only satisfies g ~ = 0. This can
Axed stars since they are Lie-dragged along the Killing
trajectory. They may be visualized by a set of telescopes be seen by noting that the expressions for the Frenet-
locked on to the distant stars. They also form the con- Serret invariants in the quasi-Killing case do not involve
necting vectors of the Killing congruence de6. ning sta- derivatives of w. One can also check explicitly that the
tionary observers. Thus the stationary observers will see same expressions for K, 7 i, 72 obtains whether one starts
the gyroscopes precess with respect to the distant stars from g + wrI or if one uses the expressions for g and
with an angular velocity per unit proper time given by replaces g b by g b treating w as a constant. Thus along
In Sec. IV A 3 we shall discuss the precession of trajectories of g + ug we obtain
a gyroscope carried once around a circular orbit as mea-
sured by a stationary observer in his rest frame. To mea-
(g11~2 + g22~2 )
4 2 (49)
sure the precession relative to a gyroscope carried by the
stationary observer the precession due to dragging men- 82 l
tioned above needs to be taken into account. Of course,
for static spacetimes the Frenet-Serret frame of the static
observer, locked on to the distant stars, does not precess
with respect to the gyroscopes.
, ~g"+(1)~(1) + g"&(2)~(2)
It may be worth pointing out that a discussion ofF the
equatorial plane involves no extra work in this formalism. gll~2 + g22~2(2)
(i)
Thus, we give general expressions in all cases when one (5o)
is ofF the equatorial plane.
g" g" (&(1)~(2) —&(2) ~(1))'
442 (g"A2(, ) +g22A2 )
IV. ROTATING COORDINATES AND
GYROSCOPIC PRECESSION ALONG where
CIRCULAR ORBITS WITH CONSTANT
ARBITRARY ANGULAR SPEEDS ~(&) gpp ~ + 2&gp3 ~ + ca)
2
g33 ~& a = 1, 2, (52)
~(b) = gp3, b+wg33b 6 = 1, 2. (53)
In Sec. III, we have obtained v, ~~, ~2 for an observer To obtain the Frenet-Serret tetrad associated with
whose world line is along the integral curves of the time-
~
we recall that with respect to the primed coordinates
like Killing vector g of a stationary spacetime. Such an
observer is at a fixed value of r, g, and P. In this section
~ is like g. Thus the Frenet-Serret tetrad in the primed
coordinates are obtained by replacing g b by g b in Eq.
we show how the use of "rotating" coordinates allows (36). The components relative to the original unprimed
one to adapt the expressions of Sec. III to trajectories coordinates are obtained via a vector transformation and
belonging to a quasi-Killing congruence that represent finally we 6.nd
observers moving along circular orbits with constant ar-
bitrary angular speeds. This is in the spirit of the method — 1
used by Rindler and Perlick [3j. e(p) (1, 0, 0, (u),
A
Starting from a stationary axially symmetric metric of 1 11 22
the form (29) adapted to the Killing vectors g and g, we e(i) ~ (0, g
2+A A(, ), g A(2), 0),
note that g + rug, where w is a constant, is also a Killing 1
vector. A coordinate system adapted to g' = g + wrI is '(2)
a = (8, o, o, —(."),
obtained by a coordinate transformation
+mt', t =t ggll g22
(44) ( +(2)~ +(l)r 0)r (54)
2KA ~

:
under which the metric becomes
= where
ds go dt
pi + 2gp 2 dP'dt' + gs 2 dP'
+ gig dr + g22 d0, (45) C—gPP + (dgP3.
 FRENET-SERRET DESCRIPTION OF GYROSCOPIC PRECESSION S711

For later comparison we write down the dual bases a particular limit of the congruence obtained by keep-
below. They are given by ing u constant corresponding to the geodetic value. The
Schwarzschild metric corresponds to a = 0 while Oat
(0) [Cdt —Bdg], spacetime corresponds to M = a = 0. In addition
if trajectories are confined to the equatorial plane then
1 1 0 = vr/2.
2r. A
[~(~)dr + A(2)de],
' [~dt —d@], A. Kerr black hole

The general case

A(, )dr-
~(3) g22
A(~) d8 . (55)
2KA g11 g22 The general procedure outlined above may be applied
to obtain the acceleration and gyroscopic precession in
We next apply the above formulas to various spe- the case of an observer following a quasi-Killing trajec-
cial cases and retrieve well-known gyroscopic precessions. tory in the Kerr spacetime. A straightforward computa-
Many of our formulas are more general in that they are tion yields
not confined to the equatorial plane but valid o8' it. The
formulas are moreover demonstrated in a unified frame- K1
work. ' (56)
ZK2
It should be recalled that in the above u can be any
arbitrary function of r and 0. This allows one to discuss S (57)
Z K1K2
precession along a geodesic (where cu is not a constant) by
M K4
chosing u such that r = 0. Although the Frenet-Serret 2
T2 = (58)
equations are reduced to only one, 71 and w2 are defined
through u, e~2~, and e~3~ by considering the geodesic as where
I

- 2 - 2
M~ — —rs 2 cu 2
)Cq ——A
g2 (1
acus 2 ) 2 + c2 s 2 g2 ((r 2 + a 2 )cu —a) 2 2
(59)

12
)C2 — 1 —(r + a )s cu —2Mr (1 —acus 2 ) 2 (60)

K3=
M~ — —rs —2Mr (1 —acus 2 )cu— (1 —acus )((r + a —a)
g2 (1
acus ) cu rcu )cu
g2

+c
2Mra
(1 —acus )' — cu, 2Mr
[(r + a2)cu —a]'+ Acu2 (61)

- 2

(1 —acus ) —ecu(r + a )(1 —atus ) + 2as cur j(r + a )cu —a} (62)
E

The bases are given by Eq. (54) with A, A(z), A(2), 8, and C given by

2Mr — 2
A= 1 —cu s (r +a )— (1 acus ),
2

A(q) = 2M (1 —acus ) —2rcu s,

2Mr
W(2)——2cs Acu + ((r + a )cu —a) 2
2Mras 2
(1 —acus)
2 —(r 2 +a)cus,
2 2

C = 1 —2Mr (1 —acus ). (63)

Z
As explained earlier for cu = 0, Eqs. (56) —(62) reduce to Eqs. (38)—(41) for motion along (c', the global timelike Killing
vector defining a stationary observer.
 B. R. IYER AND C. V. VISHVESH%ARA

2. The equatovia/ p/an e. 8 = 7r/2

On the equatorial plane the above expressions reduce to

(a(d 1) 2 p cd

(64)
2m (~cd —1)2

Ma (T +2~ )~ „(g aM) M (3'+ ') '

~
j2
1
— - 2
p2
) (65)
1 —(r2 + a2)w2— 2M(~~ 1)
2

The bases are given by Eqs. (54) —(63) with s = 1, and Perlick [3]. The base line with respect to which the
c =- 0. precession is calculated in the rotating coordinates by
We note that the gyroscopic precession is about e(3~ them coincides with the Frenet-Serret vector e(1~ on the
which is normal to the orbital plane and the precession equatorial plane. Consequently, it leads to the same pre-
frequency is given by w1 as above. cession angle AP'. In order to compute the precession
relative to a stationary geometry ("frame of fixed stars" )
8. geodesic m, otion and Schiff precession we need to subtract from the precession at the end of
one revolution the amount through which e(i) has ro-
Along a geodesic, K = 0, whence tated with respect to the stationary observer, namely,
27t radians. Following this procedure we arrive at the
gyroscopic precession in the Kerr spacetime:
(67)

This yields the Keplerian frequency in the Kerr case and (7O)
the Frenet-Serret invariant for motion along this geodesic
is
M In the linear approximation this reduces to the Schiff
r3 (68) precession. This agrees with the standard results quoted
in literature including Ref. [3].
As discussed earlier in Sec. III A one may want to
In Eq. (67) the + ( —) signs correspond to corotating compute the precession of the orbiting gyroscope with
(counterrotating) orbits. The range of values of r for respect to the fiducial gyroscope of the stationary ob-
which these orbits are timelike have been discussed in server. In one revolution of the orbiting gyroscope the
Sec. 2.2 of [3]. Their analysis shows that the range of latter precesses due to dragging by an amount
r for which counterrotating orbits are timelike requires
27'
that the absolute value of c be less than the modulus of &(t(drag) = ( &i) +goo
. It should be noted that as w approaches the Kep-
lerian value the combination A(i) jKA is still well defined
where 7i is given by Eq. (42). This leads to [13]
leading to e(1~ and e(3~ independent of w. This allows us
to extract the geodetic case as a special instance of our
more general motion. 2irMa ~
+&(dr ag)
The gyroscopic precession frequency, p~ri~, is thus
. This precession is about e(3~ which coincides (72)
with the z direction. The orbitin. g (corotating) observer
measures precession relative to e(1~ which coincides with B. Schwarzschild black hale
her radius vector which rotates with angular velocity w
given by Eq. (67). The precession angle per unit proper The Schwarzschild Inetric may be obtained from the
time as computed in the rotating coordinates is therefore Kerr metric by setting a = 0. Correspondingly the most
general case of gyroscopic precession follows from the
Kerr expression for a = 0.
&4'' = +,M geo o
27t
(69)

Genes al Schmarzachild caae

where u is the angular frequency of rotation per unit co-
ordinate time. This agrees with the results of Rindler The a = 0 limit of Eqs. (56) —(63) yields
48 FRENET-SERRET DESCRIPTION OF GYROSCOPIC PRECESSION 5713

2M M ~2 82) 2
[(1 )( + cd482c2]
2M

(1 —2M)[( —cd 82)(1 — M) — —cd c ]2

2M (74)
& 2 2)2[(1 2M)(~M 2)2 + 4

(u M2C2
2M M
r6[(1 )( cd282)2 + cd482c2]
The Frenet-Serret frame is given by
a
'(o)— (1, 0, O, cd),
1 — —7'2~2 82
1 ~2cs
e(1)
l&)
——
2M M
— Ct) 8 ) , 0
[(1 2M)(~M 2 2)2 + 4 2 2]y/
~ ~
&
~
&2

= 1 (,
e(2)
rs (1 — )(1 — —cd r 8) (
) )

( "))
2M
r t' M
2 M
2vn)(M 0, cspcd 2 8 0 (76)
[(1 2)2 + I

2. The equatorial plane In this case,

Most commonly, the precession is computed for orbits 71
2 = Cd
2

in the equatorial plane for which 0 = vr/2. Equations

(73)—(75) reduce when 0 = —to so that the orbital gyroscopic precession frequency is u,
the same as the angular speed u. In one orbital revolu-
r2(1 2M M cd2)2 tion, the gyroscope rotates by
)(
2M (77)
1/2

2M
SM)2
(78) "r (s2).

2 = 0. (79)
C. Minkowski spacetime
The bases vectors of the Frenet-Serret frame obtain by
inserting 8 = 1, c = 0 in Eq. (76). The cd independence The general ease
of e(1) and e(3) mentioned earlier may be noted more
transparently in this instance. This corresponds to M = 0 in Eqs. (73)—(75) whence
The gyroscopic precession in this case is
P M 8
K
2 = (83)
1—3M (1 —r
/'
ry = Cd
/
1—2M 'P
(so)
Cd28
)
2

(1 r2cd282)2 '

3M' f 1—2M —r g
—1/2 2 = 0, (s5)
cd
r ) r while Eqs. (76) reduce to

(s1) 1
e(o) (1, 0, 0, cd),
'I 'I 'I

8. EokIcer-de Sitter precession

— —8, —,0
e(1) — 0,
Along a geodesic K = 0 so that we recover the Keple-
rian frequency — (cdr 8, 0, 0, —1),
e~2l
t 8 1 —cd r s
e(3)
— 0, c, ——,
8
0
5714 B. R. IYER AND C. V. VISHVESH%ARA

Note that v2 vanishes identically. Therefore, the preces- = a

sion is about the normal to the orbital plane as should ~(FS) +0
~(prec) . (94)
be expected from the symmetry of the situation.
Consequently, the connecting vector between two neigh-
2. Thomas pf eee88ian boring trajectories belonging to this congruence does not
The above expressions reduce on the 0 = precess relative to the Fermi-Walker transported gyro-
7r/2 plane
to scopes. Further, w&ps) is the precession of the Frenet-
Serret frame with respect to the gyroscopes. Therefore,
P (d
2 = (s7) precession of the gyroscopes relative to the Frenet-Serret
(1 —r 2~3) 2
'
frame is given by — w~FS) which is equal to A~pzec) only
2 for the irrotational congruence. The expression for m~psi
(88)
(1 —r2(u2) 2
' is the same as one would obtain if the particular trajec-
2 = 0, tory is treated as a member of the Killing congruence
(s9) obtained by taking w of the trajectory as a constant for
leading to the familiar expression for Thomas precession: the entire congruence. This also means that the Frenet-
Serret frame is rigidly attached to the connecting vector
AP = —2vr [(1 —r (u2) ~ —1]. (9O) associated with this Eilling congruence. The expression
As expected the "Keplerian" analogue is ~ = 0 in which O(precl is exactly the same as given in [1] which is the
case there is no precession at all. precession of the gyroscope with respect to the locally
In the above sections we have shown how the general orthogonal triad of [1] adapted to the irrotational con-
Prenet-Serret formalism can be adapted to retrieve the gruence. To sum up, because of the vanishing vorticity,
results discussed in, e.g. , Ref. [3]. Motions more general the connecting vector between adjacent observers follow-
than geodetic or confined to the equatorial plane are easy ing the irrotational congruence is locked on to the inertial
to include and formulas corresponding to these cases have system of gyroscopes and does not precess with respect to
also been exhibited. the latter. However, gyroscopes do precess relative to the
Prenet-Serret frame and the latter are not inertial. This
D. Globally hypersurface orthogonal stationary precession frequency in this case is given by two equiv-
trajectories (GHOST's) alent expressions one of them involving derivatives of ~.
As we shall show later, the Frenet-Serret triad coincides
The Kerr spacetime admits an important congruence with the triad defined in [1] on the equatorial plane but
which conforms to our definition of quasi-Killing vec-
divers from it by a constant spatial rotation for 0 / —.
tor fields. Observers adapted to this congruence have We may note in passing that in the case of a LNRO
been called locally nonrotating observers (LNRO's) or
Thorne and MacDonald [15] write down the Fermi-
zero angular momentum observers (ZAMO's). Consider-
Walker time derivative of any vector orthogonal to u
able insight into the physical significance of phenomena as
occurring in the Kerr spacetime is gained by studying
them with reference to the above observers [1]. In the
broader context of orthogonal transitivity, it was shown
'[l:M+~gM+
t m
-'(xn x V'~) x M],
[14] that this congruence consists of what we may term
as globally hypersurface orthogonal stationary trajecto- (95)
ries or GHOST's, with t=const being the hypersurfaces
to which they are orthogonal. Therefore, the vorticity
of the congruence identically vanishes, so that the con-
necting vector between two adjacent trajectories does not
precess with respect to the Fermi-Walker transported gy-
where

:
m— xi and n= g~
If M is taken as the Frenet-Serret spatial triad then
(96)

roscopes. M = g M = 0 and. the formula reduces to the

The quasi-Killing vector correspond. ing to the LNRO, t m
precession of the triad relative to the gyroscopes with
ZAMO, or GHOST is defined by frequency 2 (xn x Vu) which is an equivalent form of
x=6+~'9 (») our expression for the precession frequency.
We now consider the congruence within the frame-
go3
(92) work of our formalism. It should be clear from our dis-
'g ' 'g g33 cussion of the quasi-Kilhng congruence and the section
We note that ~ is timelike down to the event horizon on on the use of rotating coordinates that all our formulas
which it becomes null. are applicable when referring to a particular fixed curve
As mentioned earlier, the vorticity of this congruence of any congruence in particular the GHOST. Conse-
is zero, so that quently, to calculate the precession of gyroscopes relative
= to a GHOST we proceed exactly as in the earlier cases
+GHOST O = abed
&b+c.d and use for u the expression appropriate to a GHOST,
2
e2+ i.e. , w = — go3/g33 Since none of our formulas involve
1
e ub +cd + e Eb'gc~, d diKerentiation of u the same expressions Eqs. (49) —(54)
2g —g give the formula for precession of a gyroscope relative to
(93) the Frenet-Serret frame of the GHOST. Thus we obtain
48 FRENET-SERRET DESCRIPTION OF GYROSCOPIC PRECESSION 5715

1 g'(„;),-(„;), ~

4 (
—
„;)'
(98)

2—
2 = g 33
2
[( —
„;),1(;;;), 2
—(,—, ),2(;;; ), 1]'
;
4+3g11g22 (gg)

g 1/2

a 1
'(1)—
11( 3 )2 + g22( ~3 )2 ( )
~g ),1 kg33 2, 2 )
—— 1
0, 0, 0,
V' —
e(2) ~

g33 )
a
(3)
gg11g22 ( f ~3 ~
( (100)
g11( +& )2 g33 + g22( +3 )2 g33
(g33) 2 ( g33) 1 )

These observers accelerate (v g 0) and their Frenet- 2ra2(r2 + a2)

Serret frames precess with respect to the gyroscopes (106)
E
(r1, r2 g 0).
The above expression can be calculated explicitly for Q3 —r +a + 2Mra s (lo7)
the Kerr solution. This gives E
C4 —2r +(r +a) —. (108)
M [221 + AC22s2c2] Z
234832 (101)
Specializing Eqs. (55) to the GHOST it is easy to see
Mas(ECZ +2raZAsc] after a little computation that the Frenet-Serret kame
2382[22+ l:2As2c2] (lo2) coincides with the LNRO frame in [1] if 8 = vr/2. The
Frenet-Serret kame is in general oriented so that e~1)
4M r a s c a[E + (r + a )2 ] is along the direction of the acceleration which is not
(lo3)
Z3223[l:21 + l:22As2c2] along the r direction, if the orbit is not confined to the
2Mra) equatorial plane.
'I )
)
'I

— M E. de Sitter universe
e(1) (0, Z1, 22sc, 0),
We next apply the formulas to the case of the de Sitter
e(2)
——(0, 0, 0, Qdss), universe whose metric we take in the form

where
e(3)
——
.zr, M
~

q
0, —~AZ2sc, , o ~,
)
ds = (1 —
—r
—
r2
) dt
—(1 —r2 )
CI
— dr —r dg

sin Odg . (log)

—r —a 2a2 ~2p2 +
C1 (105) Along trajectories of g + wg in this case we obtain
Z

1 ~2s2)2 + ~4s2c2]
[(1
T
)( + (llo)
(1 —
7' —r2&2s2) 2
——,)( —
2
(u2s2(l ', + (u2)2
2
71 = ~ ~ 1
(1 r2~2s2)2[(1 )( + ~2s2)2 + ~4s2c2]
2 Ca) C
~2
—
n4[(l —"', )( —,+ (u2s2)2 + (u4s2c2]
(112)
5716 B. R. IYER AND C. V. VISHVESHWARA 48

1
(o) (1, 0, 0, ~),
1 ( ]1—
( + s
(1) ~0, LgJ

1 —
(2) , 0, 0,

(3)
1 ( use,
~o,' '
1 1
—
r(
—
2+us), 0~,
g (
where
~3 = goo g33
2
g03 ) ~2
A
= goo g22 go2
2
~ (12o)
(114) Proceeding as before we first compute K, v1, and w2 for
an observer whose world line is g. We obtain

82 —(1 —r2') — (1 +cd s ~

+cd sc K
g
11 2
g00, 1
) (121)
) 4 goo
2

It is easy to see that there is no analogue of the Keple-

rian orbits. This is related to the fact that the "potential 2
—g
71 [ gpp(g02g03, 1 g03g02, 1)
goo is proportional to a positive power of r rather than a 4L23goO
negative power as in the Schwarzschild case. An arbitrary g22(g03gpo, l gppg03, 1)
2
cd leads to precession analogous to Thomas precession in 2
fl.at space but more complicated due to the curvature of g33 (g02gpp, 1 gppg02, 1) ]) (122)
the spatial sections.
7.2
2
—0. (123)
V. STATIONARY CYLINDRICALLY For completeness we also compute the Frenet-Serret
SYMMETRIC SPACETIMES bases for these metrics. It is given by
In this section we extend the treatment of the previ- 1
ous section to spacetimes which in addition to the Killing (1, 0, 0, 0 ),
v'goo
vector $ and vy have yet another Killing vector p repre-
senting translation invariance in the z direction. A well- e(, ) —(0, g —g", 0, 0),
known example is the Godel solution as well as metrics gll
representing solutions with cylindrical symmetry. As dis-
cussec. in the beginning all our earlier results obtain in
e(, ) ——
2+goo&23rl
(a„O, b„), c2

this instance and hence we write down without proof the a gll
main expressions. (3) (a3, 0, 63, c3), (124)
2goo V'&23&1
We start with the standard form of the line element in
this case as given by where
1
ds = gopdt + 2gp3 did p + g33 dp + 2gp2 dkdz [ g22g03(g03gpp, l gppg03, 1)
goo
+g22dz + g11dP ) (116) (125)
+g33g02(g02gpp, l gppg02, 1)])
where g b are functions of p only, since we are in coordi-
nates adapted to the Killing vectors g, g, and y, . In this ~2 —g33(gpog02, 1 g02gpp, l) + g03(g02g03, 1 g03g02, 1) ~

case we have (126)

= —g03goo)1) + g02(g03g02)1 —g02g03~1)1
g = det(g b) = gllA23, (117)
C2 g22(gppg0311

where (127)
3 g03g02, 1 g02g03, 1 ) (12s)
~23 = goog33g22 g22go3
2
g33g02
2
~
(11s) ~3 (129)
goog03, 1 g03 goo, 1 )
Further, C3 = g02goo 1 —goog02 1 (13o)

ab 1
( g22 g33 g03 g22
—gO3 g22 +2
g02 g33
gO2gO3
It should be noted that since 72 = 0, e~3~ cannot be
g +3 0 obtained by the usual Frenet-Serret process of diKerenti-
+23 g02 g33 g02g03
o o o +23 jgl1 ) ation but in this case has been obtained just by orthonor-
rnality with the e(;) (i = 0, 1, 2). Adapting the procedure
of Sec. II to the quasi-Killing congruence
 FRENET-SERRET DESCRIPTION OF GYROSCOPIC PRECESSION 5717

+vp —
=e @ep, (131) ~(1) = g02, 1 + Vg22, 17 (148)
where 1
e(p) (1) 0) V9 Ld)7
(132)
e(, ) —(0 Q-g" 0, 0),
we obtain
gll
~
a ~a
~
b
(133) (2) (a'„0, b', + va'„c', + (ua', ),
(m) b (m) 7
2v &&337i
where 11
e(3)
— (a3, 0, b3 + va3 c3 + 4/a3),
2D
((~;s + ~'%;b + vP~;b), (134)
where a'; and b,' (i = 2, 3) refer to a, and b; with g b
and replaced by the corresponding g
n = ~ +8'e(p)b (135) The geodesics are determined by K = 0, i.e. , D(1)
and in this case v1 simplifies to
where
g11
a = Fab e(p)b,
2
Tl [
2
(gp2»2&) 8(i) + (gp32 2
g33~) ~(i)
cd 23 17
—2KB 8(i)f(i)], (150)
and
— where
Hg, =e [~( hark) + v( gp, ,). (136)
gpp + 2Vgp2 + V g22. (151)
The general quasi-Killing trajectories along g represent
helical orbits. Nevertheless, the computation of v, v1, w2 A further simplification obtains if the spacetimes under
for ( involves a similar trick as before. Under the coor- consideration satisfy
dinate transformation
go2, p g22, p (152)
t (137)
7
In this case the Keplerian orbits for g are determined by
p = p'+ (ut', (138) A(i) = 0 as for the ~ congruence and ri reduces to
z =z'+ vt', (139)
g"8(,) (g,', —g22A)
the metric transforms to (153)
4L23P
gpIpI
—gpp + 2ugp3 + & 2 g33 + 2vgp2 + v 2 g22 = P7 The further restriction gp2 = 0 finally leads to a form
(140) useful for the Godel case:
gP I 3I = gP3 + (dg33 =8 (141)
2
g"8'(1)X
go'2' = go2 + vg22 (142) T1
4A3(A + v2g22)
(154)
g3'3' g337 g2'2' g22 (143)
7
The general expressions above may be simplified in three
where g Ig are independent of t', P', and z'. The Killing particular cases: (i) gpss — 0, (ii) gp2 ~ = g22 ~ = 0,
vector g = (1, 0, 0, 0) corresponds in the old coordinates (iii) gp2 = 0, g22~ = 0. The Godel universe belongs to
to g + wrl + v p and consequently we can use Eqs. (121)— category (iii) while the cylindrical vacuum metrics of [16]
(123) to evaluate r, Ti& 'T2 by using g q instead of g~b in belong to class (i).
the equations. This gives We next apply these general considerations to the
Godel case and finally, to the general cylindrically sym-
g11 ~2 metric vacuum metrics.
(1)
(144)
4B2
—g A. Godel universe
71
2
17(ZB(i) —BE(i))
4L23'V2 The Godel universe is described by the line element
—g22(8&(i) —&8(i) )
ds = 4B [ dt + 2~2S dPdt —(S —S ) dP
g33+1 (i) 1 ~(i)) (145) dr —dz ], — (155)
where S= sinh r, C:—cosh r.
7.2 ——0, (146)
2

where General spiraling g traj ectories

2
(1) = gpp 1 + 2cugo31 +~ 2
g33, 1 + 2vgo2, 1 +v g22, 17 Adapting the formulas of the previous section for ob-
(147) servers moving along g we have
5718 B. R. IYER AND C. V. VISHVESHWARA 48

Thus the Frenet-Serret frame of the stationary observers

2~2 —~(1 —2S2) precesses relative to the gyroscopes and reveals the rota-
4B2g~2
(156) tion intrinsic to the Godel universe. Following the pro-
cedure outlined in Sec. IV A 3 the precession due to
1
j2 ~, 1, (g' + '(g' + g,'g )), (157) dragging is
—~(1 —2 sinh r) (17o)
2
72 =0, (158) AQ(drag)

where in agreement with [3].

gg = 1 + 2V2(uS —(u S (1 —S ) —v, (159) GHOST

g2 = (u(1 —2S ) —~2(1+ (u S )
We conclude by a consideration of precession along
+-v (v 2 —(u(1 —2S )), (16o) GHOST's. The angular velocity of these observers cor-
respond to
gs = cuS/1 —S2(2~2 —w(1 —2S )), (161)
gps V2
g4
—
= ~2 —(u(1 —2S ). (162) —S2 (171)
g33 1
leading to
2. Geodesi cs S2
2 = (172)
Along a geodesic ~ = 0 yielding for the "Keplerian" B2C2 (1 —S2) 2
&equency and
2~2
—2S2 ' (163) 2 = (173)
2B'(1 —S')'
'
1
the same as for the g orbits [3]. However, the gyroscopic
precession &equency contains the signature of the z mo-
tion and is given by B. Stationary cylindrically symmetric
vacuum spacetimes
2 1 —4S'C'
Tg
2R2[1 —4S C —v (1 —2S (164) The stationary cylindrically symmetric vacuum space-
) ]
times have been given in an elegant compact form by
Vishveshwara and Winicour [16] as
8. The y motion ds =e ~ (dr + do ) + Appdt + 2Apsdtdg+ Assd(b,
The v = 0 limit of the Eqs. (156)—(162) leads us to the (174)
motion along y lines and we obtain where

~2S2C2 2~2 —~(1 —2S2) =A v+ +B 7. o. =00 03 33, (175)

4R2 1 + 2~2~S2 —~2S2(1 —S2)
(165) e'& = cr'b —',
1
r = v2p, ~ = ~2z. (176)
The coefficients A and P satisfy the algebraic relations
(~2 —(u(1 —2S ) + ~2~ S )
(166)
4/2[1 + 2~2~S2 —~2S2(1 —S2)]2
App A33 Ap3:
2
Bpp B33
2
Bp3 (177)
The precession &equency for motion along circular App B33 + A33 Bpp —2Ap3 Bp3 (178)
geodesics takes the simple form
The mass per unit length m and angular momentum
2= 1
(167) unit length j
are given by
per
2R2
yielding for the precession = —+ —AppBss),
m 2 b(AssBpp (179)
EP = —vr [(1 —sinh 2r ) '~ —2] (168)
in agreement with earlier results [3].
j = —b(ApsB33 Ass Bps). (18o)

Finally in the case of stationary observers (g lines)

1 The g traje.ctor'ies
+=0, i.e. , the t lines are geodesics. In this case we obtain
For completeness we write down the Frenet-Serret in-
1 variants for the line element listed above. They turn out
2R2 (169) to be
48 FRENET-SERRET DESCRIPTION OF GYROSCOPIC PRECESSION 5719

.2=- 4m-b'+'
—2W '
(1 + 6)7' Apipi + (1 —6)7
Ap&p~7 + Bplp17
Bpipi + (6 —1)v
+ v c7 b2 —2
C7
2
(181)

3W2 CTb —2 +v (WWs —W2) (182)

where

App App + 2MAp3 + u A33& (183)

Bol ol Bpp + 24&)Bo3 + u B33) (184)
Ap3 Ap3 + wAo3
' —Bo3 + ~Bo3&
Bo'3': (185)
Aolp&7
b
+ Bo&p&7 + 2v c7 b2 —2 (186)
Wg 6(ApipiBpisi —ApisiBpipi) —v cT
b —2
((1 + 6)(2 —6)Ap s i7 i+ (1 —b)(2 + 6)Bpisi1 ), (187)
/Assr + Bss~ b[(l + b)(2 —6)Apipir + (1 —b)(2+ b)Bpipi~ ], (188)
W3 (1 + 6) (2 —6) Ap i' i+ (1 —6) (2 + 6) Bpisi T (189)

2. Observera with arbitrary con8tant angular velocity along ~

In this case we obtain
1 (1+ b)Apipir + (1 —b)Bpipi7.
K
+' ) (190)
4C7-b Ao~olv. + Bpl pI~—
- 2
26 2 (Api pi Bpi si —Api si Bpi pi )
j + (191)
crab App7b + Bpp T
Note

b(Ap p Bipisii —Apisi Bpi pi ) = 6[(AppBps —ApsBpp + cu(AppBss —AssBpp) + (u (ApsBss —AssBps)]
2 [26(AppBps
—ApsBpp) —(d(4m —1) + 4ju ]. (192)

3. Xeylerian geodeaics 1 (1 —b)A3sr + (1+ 6)B33'7

4c~b'+' A33~ + B337.
These are determined r = 0 yieldingby
(196)
—
[ (1 + 6)Apso + (1
—6)Bpsr ] + ( )2
2 The precession takes the form
(1+ 6)As3T + (1 6)B3 s7
(193)
Sj'
c'rb +1 (A&srb + Bss'r b) 2
'— (197)
Note that real roots are possible only for b 1 which
is consistent with the fact that the potential gpp is a func-
( The gyroscopic precession given by rj is proportional in
tion of negative powers of w only for these values. The this case to the specific angular momentum j.
From our
precession is obtained to be previous discussion we know that the connecting vector
between two adjacent trajectories of the "irrotational"
congruence does not precess with respect to the Fermi-
(194)
Walker transported gyroscope. In general, the Frenet-
Serret triad does precess with respect to the gyroscope
GHOST or equivalently in this case with respect to the connecting
vector. However, if rq —0 (v.2 is identically zero) then
Finally we look at these special trajectories for the the Frenet-Serret triad is also nonprecessing with respect
cylindrically symmetric vacuum metrics. In this instance to the gyroscope or the connecting vector. This happens
gO3 Ap3 w + Bp3 w
when the angular momentum of the source j = 0. Thus,
(195) the observer can decide if the source is rotating or not by
g33 A337 + B337 checking whether or not his Frenet-Serret triad, which is
and the acceleration becomes Lie transported, precesses with respect to the gyroscope
5720 B. R. IYER AND C. V. VISHVESHWARA

or the connecting vector. Gyroscopic precession along Frenet-Serret formalism provides a covariant and elegant
trajectories of the irrotational congruence reveal directly framework for the study of precession. By extending the
the rotation of the central source. formalism applied to Killing trajectories to quasi-Killing
trajectories, a large number of cases can be studied in
S. 1'he 8tationary observes 8 a unified manner. Furthermore, this treatment makes it
possible to relate the precession of a gyroscope to the vor-
For completeness we write down the parameters when ticity of a congruence when the gyroscope is transported
~ = 0, i.e. , the g lines. We have along a given member of that congruence. An impor-
tant example is the irrotational congruence admitted by
1 (1+ b)Appr + (1 —b)Bop' (198) stationary, axisymmetric spacetimes like the Kerr. It is
,
4CW~'+1 AQP& + BPQ& worth pointing out, however, that gyroscopic precession
26 is directly determined by the Frenet-Serret rotation in
AQQBP3 AP3BPQ
|"7 +
(199) general. Another aspect of our treatment is the unified
Appw + Bppz description of precession applicable to a whole family of
Equation (199) describes the rotation of the stationary spacetimes. Specifically, precession for orbits with arbi-
gyroscope due to dragging. Once again this illustrates trary constant angular speed has been worked out for
the very general eKect of spacetime rotation on local ex- the Kerr metric. Starting from this, particular examples
periments. have been worked out for the entire Kerr-Schwarzschild-
Minkowski spacetimes. Expressions presented are gen-
VI. CONCLUSION eral, exact, and not con6ned to the equatorial plane. In
deriving these results rotating coordinate systems have
As has been mentioned earlier, gyroscopic precession been used to generate circular orbits from static trajec-
is a phenomenon that has been extensively studied both tories. Also, additional interesting cases such as Godel,
in flat and curved spacetimes by diferent methods. The de Sitter universe, and general vacuum cylindrical space-
orbits of the gyroscopes in these instances are given by times have been investigated. It would be interesting to
combinations of Killing directions admitted by the space- explore in detail the implications of the general results
times under consideration. It is found that in these cir- obtained here and their possible astrophysical applica-
cumstances, the invariant geometrical description of the tions.

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