physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

, precisely in the

general theory of relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the differential geometry, geometric scientific theory, theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current descr ...

, post-Minkowskian expansions (PM) or post-Minkowskian approximations are mathematical methods used to find approximate solutions of

Einstein's equations In the general theory of relativity, the Einstein field equations (EFE; also known as Einstein's equations) relate the geometry of spacetime to the distribution of matter within it. The equations were published by Einstein in 1915 in the form ...

by means of a power series development of the metric tensor. Unlike post-Newtonian expansions (PN), in which the series development is based on a combination of powers of the velocity (which must be negligible compared to that of light) and the gravitational constant, in the post-Minkowskian case the developments are based only on the gravitational constant, allowing analysis even at velocities close to that of light (relativistic). One of the earliest works on this method of resolution is that of

Bruno Bertotti Bruno Bertotti (24 December 1930 – 20 October 2018) was an Italian physicist, emeritus professor at the University of Pavia. He was one of the last students of physicist Erwin Schrödinger. Bertotti was well known for his contributions to gener ...

, published in Nuovo Cimento in 1956.

References

{{Reflist General relativity