Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 October 2008
It was shown by Birkhoff ((1), p. 253) that every spherically symmetric solution of the field equations of general relativity for empty space,
may be reduced, by suitable coordinate transformations, to the static Schwarzschild form:
where m is a constant. This result is known as Birkhoff's theorem and excludes the possibility of spherically symmetric gravitational radiation. Different proofs of the theorem have been given by Eiesland(2), Tolman(3), and Bonnor ((4), p. 167).