Abstract
A proof of the positive energy theorem of general relativity is given. In this proof the gravitational Lagrangian is identified with that of Lau and is equivalent to the teleparallel Lagrangian modulo, a boundary term. The approach adopted in this proof uses the two-spinor method and the extended Witten identities and then combines the Brown-York and the Nester-Witten approaches. At the same time the proof is extended to the case involving the contribution of angular momentum by choosing a special shift vector.
- Received 23 June 2005
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.72.124020
©2005 American Physical Society