Gravitational Stokes parameters

Abstract

The electromagnetic and gravitational Stokes parameters are defined in the general theory of relativity. The general-relativistic equation of radiative transfer for polarized radiation is then derived in terms of the Stokes parameters for both high-frequency electromagnetic and gravitational waves. The concept of Stokes parameters is generalized for the most general class of metric theories of gravity, where six (instead of two) independent states of polarization are present.