Gravitational Field of a Spinning Mass as an Example of Algebraically Special Metrics

We review black-hole solutions of higher-dimensional vacuum gravity and higher-dimensional supergravity theories. The discussion of vacuum gravity is pedagogical, with detailed reviews of Myers-Perry solutions, black rings, and solution-generating techniques. We discuss black-hole solutions of maximal supergravity theories, including black holes in anti-de Sitter space. General results and open problems are discussed throughout.

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Black Holes in Higher Dimensions

The title immediately brings to mind a standard reference of almost the same title [1]. The authors are quick to point out the relationship between these two works: they are complementary. The purpose of this work is to explain what is known about a selection of exact solutions. As the authors state, it is often much easier to find a new solution of Einstein's equations than it is to understand it. Even at first glance it is very clear that great effort went into the production of this reference. The book is replete with beautifully detailed diagrams that reflect deep geometric intuition. In many parts of the text there are detailed calculations that are not readily available elsewhere. The book begins with a review of basic tools that allows the authors to set the notation. Then follows a discussion of Minkowski space with an emphasis on the conformal structure and applications such as simple cosmic strings. The next two chapters give an in-depth review of de Sitter space and then anti-de Sitter space. Both chapters contain a remarkable collection of useful diagrams. The standard model in cosmology these days is the ICDM model and whereas the chapter on the Friedmann-Lema?tre?Robertson?Walker space-times contains much useful information, I found the discussion of the currently popular a representation rather too brief. After a brief but interesting excursion into electrovacuum, the authors consider the Schwarzschild space-time. This chapter does mention the Swiss cheese model but the discussion is too brief and certainly dated. Space-times related to Schwarzschild are covered in some detail and include not only the addition of charge and the cosmological constant but also the addition of radiation (the Vaidya solution). Just prior to a discussion of the Kerr space-time, static axially symmetric space-times are reviewed. Here one can find a very interesting discussion of the Curzon?Chazy space-time. The chapter on rotating black holes is rather brief and, for example, does not contain reference to the insights found by Pretorius and Israel [2]. This is perhaps justifiable in view of the many specialized texts devoted to the Kerr space-time (e.g. [3]). The large clear diagrams that one becomes accustomed to in this book show off the Taub-NUT (and related) space-times in the next chapter. After perhaps a somewhat standard discussion of stationary axially symmetric space-times, there is a very informative discussion of accelerating black holes. For example, the global structure of the C-metric is considered in detail. This is followed by a brief discussion of solutions for uniformly accelerating particles. The discussion of the Pleba?ski-Demia?ski solutions contains two very useful flow charts that help to systematize two rather complex families of solutions. After a somewhat brief discussion of plane and pp-waves, the authors give an extensive discussion of the Kunt solutions. I note here that after this text was in production the importance of the Kunt space-times as regards the characterization of space-times by scalar curvature invariants was made clear [4]. The discussion of the Robinson-Trautman solutions that follows is extensive, containing, for example, details of the singularity structure and of the global structure. The final formal chapter in this text covers colliding plane waves. This contains, for example, discussions of the Khan?Penrose, Ferrari?Iba?ez and Chandrasekhar?Xanthopoulos solutions. The text ends with a `final miscellany'. This covers a number of interesting topics, but I found the discussion of the Lema?tre?Tolman solutions rather weak (compare e.g. [5]). The book has two quite useful appendices covering 2-spaces and 3-spaces of constant curvature. To conclude, I will quote from the dust jacket: `The book is an invaluable resource for both graduate students and academic researchers working in gravitational physics'. I highly recommend it. References [1] Stephani H, Kramer D, MacCallum M, Hoenselaers C and Herlt E 2003 Exact Solutions of Einstein's Field Equations (Second Edition) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) [2] Pretorius F and Israel W 1998 Class. Quantum Grav.15 2289 [3] Wiltshire D, Visser M and Scott S (ed) 2008 The Kerr Spacetime: Rotating Black Holes in General Relativity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) [4] Coley A, Hervik S and Pelavas N 2009 Class. Quantum Grav. 26 025013 [5] Pleba?ski J and Krasi?ski A 2006 An Introduction to General Relativity and Cosmology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)

Exact Space-Times in Einstein's General Relativity

: The final report covering the research performed under the Air Force Office of Scientific Research by the Dallas relativity group, summarizes information on personnel involved, on the scientific work done, and on the results obtained in the four years of the grant's duration. Topics investigated were in areas of General relativity, cosmology, and electrodynamics.

Exact Solutions of Einstein's Field Equations.

Any spacetime containing a degenerate Killing horizon, such as an extremal black hole, possesses a well-defined notion of a near-horizon geometry. We review such near-horizon geometry solutions in a variety of dimensions and theories in a unified manner. We discuss various general results including horizon topology and near-horizon symmetry enhancement. We also discuss the status of the classification of near-horizon geometries in theories ranging from vacuum gravity to Einstein-Maxwell theory and supergravity theories. Finally, we discuss applications to the classification of extremal black holes and various related topics. Several new results are presented and open problems are highlighted throughout.

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Classification of Near-Horizon Geometries of Extremal Black Holes.

As an extension of the Robinson?Trautman solutions of D = 4 general relativity, we investigate higher dimensional spacetimes which admit a hypersurface orthogonal, non-shearing and expanding geodesic null congruence. Einstein's field equations with an arbitrary cosmological constant and possibly an aligned pure radiation are fully integrated so that the complete family is presented in a closed explicit form. As a distinctive feature of higher dimensions, the transverse spatial part of the general line element must be a Riemannian Einstein space, but it is otherwise arbitrary. On the other hand, the remaining part of the metric is?perhaps surprisingly?not so rich as in the standard D = 4 case, and the corresponding Weyl tensor is necessarily of algebraic type D. While the general family contains (generalized) static Schwarzschild?Kottler?Tangherlini black holes and extensions of the Vaidya metric, there is no analogue of important solutions such as the C-metric.

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Robinson?Trautman spacetimes in higher dimensions

We show that all static spacetimes in higher dimensions n > 4 are necessarily of Weyl types G, Ii, D or O. This also applies to stationary spacetimes provided additional conditions are fulfilled, as for most known black hole/ring solutions. (The conclusions change when the Killing generator becomes null, such as at Killing horizons, on which we briefly comment.) Next we demonstrate that the same Weyl types characterize warped product spacetimes with a one-dimensional Lorentzian (timelike) factor, whereas warped spacetimes with a two-dimensional Lorentzian factor are restricted to the types D or O. By exploring algebraic consequences of the Bianchi identities, we then analyze the simplest non-trivial case from the above classes?type D vacuum spacetimes, possibly with a cosmological constant, dropping, however, the assumptions that the spacetime is static, stationary or warped. It is shown that for 'generic' type D vacuum spacetimes (as defined in the text) the corresponding principal null directions are geodetic in arbitrary dimension (this in fact also applies to type II spacetimes). For n ? 5, however, there may exist particular cases of type D vacuum spacetimes which admit non-geodetic multiple principal null directions and we explicitly present such examples in any n ? 7. Further studies are restricted to five dimensions, where the type D Weyl tensor is fully described by a 3 ? 3 real matrix ?ij. In the case with 'twistfree' (Aij = 0) principal null geodesics we show that in a 'generic' case ?ij is symmetric and eigenvectors of ?ij coincide with eigenvectors of the expansion matrix Sij providing us thus in general with three preferred spacelike directions of the spacetime. Similar results are also obtained when relaxing the twistfree condition and assuming instead that ?ij is symmetric. The five-dimensional Myers?Perry black hole and Kerr?NUT?AdS metrics in arbitrary dimension are also briefly studied as specific illustrative examples of type D vacuum spacetimes.

Type D Einstein spacetimes in higher dimensions

We explore connections between geometrical properties of null congruences and the algebraic structure of the Weyl tensor in n > 4 spacetime dimensions. First, we present the full set of Ricci identities on a suitable 'null' frame, thus completing the extension of the Newman–Penrose formalism to higher dimensions. Then we specialize to geodetic null congruences and study specific consequences of the Sachs equations. These imply, for example, that Kundt spacetimes are of type II or more special (like for n = 4) and that for odd n a twisting geodetic WAND must also be shearing (in contrast to the case n = 4).

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Ricci identities in higher dimensions

We review recent developments and applications of the classification of the Weyl tensor in higher dimensional Lorentzian geometries. First, we discuss the general setup, i.e. main definitions and methods for the classification, some refinements and the generalized Newman-Penrose and Geroch-Held-Penrose formalisms. Next, we summarize general results, such as a partial extension of the Goldberg-Sachs theorem, characterization of spacetimes with vanishing (or constant) curvature invariants and the peeling behaviour in asymptotically flat spacetimes. Finally, we discuss certain invariantly defined families of metrics and their relation with the Weyl tensor classification, including: Kundt and Robinson-Trautman spacetimes; the KerrSchild ansatz in a constant-curvature background; purely electric and purely magnetic spacetimes; direct and (some) warped products; and geometries with certain symmetries. To conclude, some applications to quadratic gravity are also overviewed.

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Algebraic classification of higher dimensional spacetimes based on null alignment

As an extension of the Robinson-Trautman solutions of D=4 general relativity, we investigate higher dimensional spacetimes which admit a hypersurface orthogonal, non-shearing and expanding geodesic null congruence. Einstein's field equations with an arbitrary cosmological constant and possibly an aligned pure radiation are fully integrated, so that the complete family is presented in closed explicit form. As a distinctive feature of higher dimensions, the transverse spatial part of the general line element must be a Riemannian Einstein space, but it is otherwise arbitrary. On the other hand, the remaining part of the metric is - perhaps surprisingly - not so rich as in the standard D=4 case, and the corresponding Weyl tensor is necessarily of algebraic type D. While the general family contains (generalized) static Schwarzschild-Kottler-Tangherlini black holes and extensions of the Vaidya metric, there is no analogue of important solutions such as the C-metric.

Marcello Ortaggio

Papers

Robinson?Trautman spacetimes in higher dimensions

Type D Einstein spacetimes in higher dimensions

Ricci identities in higher dimensions

Algebraic classification of higher dimensional spacetimes based on null alignment

Robinson-Trautman spacetimes in higher dimensions