Rough solutions of the Einstein-vacuum equations

Abstract

This is the first in a series of papers in which we initiate the study of very rough solutions to the initial value problem for the Einstein-vacuum equations expressed relative to wave coordinates. By very rough we mean solutions which cannot be constructed by the classical techniques of energy estimates and Sobolev inequalities. Following [Kl-Ro] we develop new analytic methods based on Strichartz-type inequalities which result in a gain of half a derivative relative to the classical result. Our methods blend paradifferential techniques with a geometric approach to the derivation of decay estimates. The latter allows us to take full advantage of the specific structure of the Einstein equations.