This paper uses the Schwarzschild metric to derive an effective refractive index and acceleration vector that account for relativistic deflection of light rays in an otherwise classical kinematic framework. The new refractive index and the known path equation are integrated to give accurate results for travel time and deflection angle, respectively. A new formula for coordinate acceleration is derived which describes the path of a massless test particle in the vicinity of a spherically symmetric mass density distribution. A standard ray shooting technique is used to compare the deflection angle and time delay predicted by this new formula with the previously calculated values, and with standard first‐order approximations. Finally, the ray shooting method is used in theoretical examples of strong and weak lensing, reproducing known observer‐plane caustic patterns for multiple masses.

Rayleigh-Taylor instability occurs when a heavier fluid overlies a lighter fluid, and the two seek to exchange positions under the effect of gravity. We present linearized theory for arbitrary 3D initial disturbances that grow in time, and calculate the evolution of the interface for early times. A new spectral method is introduced for the fully 3D nonlinear problem in a Boussinesq fluid, where the interface between the light and heavy fluid is approximated with a smooth but rapid density change in the fluid. The results of large-scale numerical calculation are presented in fully 3D geometry, compared and contrasted with the early-time linearized theory.2010 Mathematics subject classification: 76E17: Interfacial stability and instability; 76M22: Spectral methods.

The classical Rayleigh–Taylor instability occurs when a heavy fluid overlies a lighter one, and the two fluids are separated by a horizontal interface. The configuration is unstable, and a small perturbation to the interface grows with time. Here, we consider such an arrangement for planar flow, but in a porous medium governed by Darcy’s law. First, the fully saturated situation is considered, where the two horizontal fluids are separated by a sharp interface. A classical linearized theory is reviewed, and the nonlinear model is solved numerically. It is shown that the solution is ultimately limited in time by the formation of a curvature singularity at the interface. A partially saturated Boussinesq theory is then presented, and its linearized approximation predicts a stable interface that merely diffuses. Nonlinear Boussinesq theory, however, allows the growth of drips and bubbles at the interface. These structures develop with no apparent overturning at their heads, unlike the corresponding flow for two free fluids.

This paper uses the Kerr geodesic equations for massless particles to derive an acceleration vector in both Boyer-Lindquist and Cartesian coordinates. As a special case, the Schwarzschild acceleration due to a non-rotating mass has a particularly simple and elegant form in Cartesian coordinates. Using forward integration, these equations are used to plot the caustic pattern due to a system consisting of a rotating point mass with a smaller non-rotating planet. Additionally, first and second order approximations to the paths are identified, which allows for fast approximations of paths, deflection angles and travel-time delays.

A recent paper by Walters, Forbes and Jarvis presented new kinematic formulae for ray tracing in gravitational lensing models. The approach can generate caustic maps, but is computationally expensive. Here, a linearized approximation to that formulation is presented. Although still complicated, the linearized equations admit a remarkable closed‐form solution. As a result, linearized approximations to the caustic patterns may be generated extremely rapidly, and are found to be in good agreement with the results of full non‐linear computation. The usual Einstein‐angle approximation is derived as a small angle approximation to the solution presented here.