Real centrifugal forces in relativistic rotating spacetimes: a simple introduction

Abstract

During typical general relativity courses, the so-called frame dragging effect is explained by emphasizing the presence of a gravitational Coriolis-like force term. The key difference is that, unlike the usual Coriolis force, this is not a fictitious force but a real gravitational force caused by the rotating body. In general, textbooks do not discuss also the possibility of a real gravitational centrifugal-like force. In this paper, which has a didactic aim, we analyze this further gravitational term. The analysis we perform can be valuable in undergraduate courses of general relativity.