On the Rigidity Theorem for Spacetimes with a Stationary Event Horizon or a Compact Cauchy Horizon

We consider smooth electrovac spacetimes which represent either (A) an asymptotically flat, stationary black hole or (B) a cosmological spacetime with a compact Cauchy horizon ruled by closed null geodesics. The black hole event horizon or, respectively, the compact Cauchy horizon of these spacetimes is assumed to be a smooth null hypersurface which is non-degenerate in the sense that its null geodesic generators are geodesically incomplete in one direction. In both cases, it is shown that there exists a Killing vector field in a one-sided neighborhood of the horizon which is normal to the horizon. We thereby generalize theorems of Hawking (for case (A)) and Isenberg and Moncrief (for case (B)) to the non-analytic case. Received: 4 November 1998 / Accepted: 13 February 1999     

Motion and collision of particles near Plebanski-Demianski black hole: Shadow and gravitational lensing

Here we consider accelerating and rotating charged Plebanski-Demianski (PD) class of black hole metric as a particle accelerator. We obtain the geodesic motions (timelike, null and spacelike) of particles in a non-equatorial plane around the PD black hole. We find the effective potential, energy, angular momentum, impact parameters, and discuss the circular orbit. We study the center of mass energy of two neutral particles falling from infinity to near the non-extremal horizons (event and Cauchy horizons), extremal horizon, accelerating horizons, and near the center of the PD black hole. Also, we study the collision of a particle and a massless photon. Then we find the center of mass energy due to the collision of two massless photons in the PD black hole background. We compute the redshift and blueshift of the emitted photons by massive particles while light signal travels along null geodesics towards the observer located far away from the source. We study the Penrose process, which occurs within the ergosphere, and examines the particle’s motion with its implications. Here, we analyze the PD black hole shadow’s apparent shape, which forms far away from the black hole. We study the possible visibility of the PD black hole through photon’s shadow and energy emission rate. We also investigate the effect on the shadow of the PD black hole in plasma for a distant observer. We study the strong gravitational lensing by PD black hole. Finally, we analyze the deflection angle, lens equation, position, magnification, Einstein ring and observables by taking the supermassive PD black hole in the Galaxy’s center.     

A vacuum spacetime with closed null geodesics

Here we present a vacuum spacetime with closed null geodesics (CNGs). These CNGs are obtained by analytically solving the geodesic equations. This spacetime is locally isometric to the plane wave spacetime and has very different global properties from metrics of the latter type.     

A Dynamical Systems Approach to Geodesics in Bianchi Cosmologies

To understand the observational properties of cosmological models, in particular, the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation, it is necessary to study their null geodesics. Dynamical systems theory, in conjunction with the orthonormal frame approach, has proved to be an invaluable tool for analyzing spatially homogeneous cosmologies. It is thus natural to use such techniques to study the geodesics of these models. We therefore augment the Einstein field equations with the geodesic equations, all written in dimensionless form, obtaining an extended system of first-order ordinary differential equations that simultaneously describes the evolution of the gravitational field and the behavior of the associated geodesics. It is shown that the extended system is a powerful tool for investigating the effect of spacetime anisotropies on the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation, and that it can also be used for studying geodesic chaos.     

Geodesics in rotating systems

The paper investigates the equations for geodesics, null geodesics, and spatial geodesics in rotating systems. Geodesics and null geodesics have, as usual, been interpreted as the paths of free particles and of light rays, respectively. Spatial geodesics are given a firm interpretation as the shortest paths between points within the rotating system, where the path length is measured by an observer in the rotating system who moves along the spatial geodesic. The paper shows that equations for geodesics in rotating systems may be derived by the traditional method, i.e., from the flat-space metric of general relativity, or by means of the instantaneous Lorentz frames approach. This supports the use of instantaneous Lorentz frames as a valid method for the analysis of events in rotating systems.     

A Dynamical Systems Approach to Geodesics in Bianchi Cosmologies

To understand the observational properties of cosmological models, in particular, the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation, it is necessary to study their null geodesics. Dynamical systems theory, in conjunction with the orthonormal frame approach, has proved to be an invaluable tool for analyzing spatially homogeneous cosmologies. It is thus natural to use such techniques to study the geodesics of these models. We therefore augment the Einstein field equations with the geodesic equations, all written in dimensionless form, obtaining an extended system of first-order ordinary differential equations that simultaneously describes the evolution of the gravitational field and the behavior of the associated geodesics. It is shown that the extended system is a powerful tool for investigating the effect of space-time anisotropies on the temperature of the cosmic microwave background radiation, and that it can also be used for studying geodesic chaos.     

Gödel black hole,closed timelike horizon and the study of particle emissions

We show that a particle, with positive orbital angular momentum, following an outgoing null/timelike geodesic, shall never reach the closed timelike horizon present in the (4 + 1)-dimensional rotating Gödel black hole space–time. Therefore a large part of this space–time remains inaccessible to a large class of geodesic observers, depending on the conserved quantities associated with them. We discuss how this fact and the existence of the closed timelike curves present in the asymptotic region make the quantum field theoretic study of the Hawking radiation, where the asymptotic observer states are a pre-requisite, unclear. However, the semi classical approach provides an alternative to verify the Smarr formula derived recently for the rotating Gödel black hole. We present a systematic analysis of particle emissions, specifically for scalars, charged Dirac spinors and vectors, from this black hole via the semiclassical complex path method.     

Geodesics on a supermanifold and projective equivalence of superconnections

We investigate the concept of projective equivalence of connections in supergeometry. To this aim, we propose a definition for (super) geodesics on a supermanifold in which, as in the classical case, they are the projections of the integral curves of a vector field on the tangent bundle: the geodesic vector field associated with the connection. Our (super) geodesics possess the same properties as in the classical case: there exists a unique (super) geodesic satisfying a given initial condition and when the connection is metric, our supergeodesics coincide with the trajectories of a free particle with unit mass. Moreover, using our definition, we are able to establish Weyl’s characterization of projective equivalence in the super context: two torsion-free (super) connections define the same geodesics (up to reparametrizations) if and only if their difference tensor can be expressed by means of a (smooth, even, super) 1-form.     

Circular orbits in extremal Reissner-Nordstrom spacetime

Circular null geodesic orbits, in extremal Reissner-Nordstrom spacetime, are examined with regard to their stability, and compared with similar orbits in the near-extremal situation. Extremization of the effective potential for null circular orbits shows the existence of a stable circular geodesic in the extremal spacetime, precisely on the event horizon which coincides with the null geodesic generator. Such a null orbit on the horizon is also indicated by the global minimum of the effective potential for circular timelike orbits. This type of geodesic is of course absent in the corresponding near-extremal spacetime, as we show here, testifying to differences between the extremal limit of a generic RN spacetime and the exactly extremal geometry.     

The Shell of Incoherent Charged Matter Falling onto a Charged Rotating Black Hole

The motion of the shell of charged testparticles falling radially from rest at infinity withzero total angular momentum onto a Kerr–Newmanblack hole is studied. The shell, initially spherical,becomes prolate along the axis of symmetry of the holeduring the fall. The shape of the shell from theviewpoint of distant observers is characterized by meansof the photons moving along geodesics of the outgoing principal null congruence. The motion of theshell is examined analytically for large distances andnear the horizon. In the special case, when at largedistances of the hole the attractive Newtongravitational force is compensated by the repulsive Coulombforce, the complete motion is given explicitly in termsof elementary functions.     

Neutrinos in a spherical de sitter universe: Exclusive properties of isotropic geodesics

The behavior of neutrinos as particles with spin 1/2 and with a strictly zero rest mass is studied. The qualitative differences between the case in which a particle's mass is small and that in which it is strictly zero are considered. In the former, a spin-1/2 particle must be described by a spinor, while in the latter, it can be described by a semispinor. These differences are manifested not only at the quantum but also at the classical level. It is essential that the case of a particle with a zero rest mass must be treated as strictly relativistic at any level. The exclusive properties of isotropic geodesic lines are considered. The chief one is their inherent conformal invariance. Because of it, the conformal angular momentum of a particle with zero rest mass is conserved in a Riemann universe that admits of a continuous group of conformal transformations. This is a 15-parameter group in a spherical de Sitter universe. Accordingly, 15 linearly independent, conformal momenta are conserved in it. The exclusive properties of isotropic geodesics in a spherical de Sitter universe are also manifested in the fact that they are straight in a five-dimensional, pseudo-Euclidean space enveloping that universe. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 10, pp. 114–119, October, 1998.     

Radiating stars with generalised Vaidya atmospheres

We model the gravitational behaviour of a radiating star when the exterior geometry is the generalised Vaidya spacetime. The interior matter distribution is shear-free and undergoing radial heat flow. The exterior energy momentum tensor is a superposition of a null fluid and a string fluid. An analysis of the junction conditions at the stellar surface shows that the pressure at the boundary depends on the interior heat flux and the exterior string density. The results for a relativistic radiating star undergoing nonadiabatic collapse are obtained as a special case. For a particular model we demonstrate that the radiating fluid sphere collapses without the appearance of the horizon at the boundary.     

Schwarzschild black hole surrounded by quintessence: null geodesics

We have studied the null geodesics of the Schwarzschild black hole surrounded by quintessence matter. Quintessence matter is a candidate for dark energy. Here, we have done a detailed analysis of the geodesics and exact solutions are presented in terms of Jacobi-elliptic integrals for all possible energy and angular momentum of the photons. The circular orbits of the photons are studied in detail. As an application of the null geodesics, the angle of deflection of the photons are computed.     

Penrose limits of homogeneous spaces

We prove that the Penrose limit of a spacetime along a homogeneous geodesic is a homogeneous plane wave spacetime and that the Penrose limit of a reductive homogeneous spacetime along a homogeneous geodesic is a Cahen–Wallach space. We then consider several homogenous examples to show that these results are indeed sharp and conclude with a remark about the existence of null homogeneous geodesics.     

Projective differential geometry and geodesic conservation laws in general relativity,II: Conservation laws

We examine the geodesic conservation laws associated with the projective actions discussed in our earlier paper with the same overall title. Using the Cartan formalism, a one-to-one correspondence between a class of these actions and all geodesic conservation laws is possible. In particular there is a natural geometric interpretation of Killing tensors. Homothetic motions are shown to correspond to conserved quantities on all geodesies (not just null ones). The same approach identifies homothetic Killing tensors and a universal quadratic first integral which reduces to the conformai Killing tensor case on null geodesics.     

Neutrino oscillation interference phase in Kerr space--time

The mass neutrino interference phases along the null trajectory and the geodesic line in Kerr space--time are studied on the plane θ=π/2. Because of the rotation object in Kerr space--time, a particle travelling along the radial geodesic must have a dragging effect produced by the angular momentum of the central object. We give the correction of the phase due to the rotation of the space--time. We find that the type-I interference phase along the geodesic remains the double of that along the null on the condition that the rotating quantity parameter a² is preserved and the higher order terms are negligible (e.g. a⁴). In addition, we calculate the proper oscillation length in Kerr space--time. All of our results can return to those in Schwarzschild space--time as the rotating parameter a approaches zero.     

Particle Motion and Perturbed Dynamical System in Warped Product Spacetimes

In this paper we have used the dynamical systems analysis to study the dynamics of a five-dimensional universe in the form of a warped product spacetime with a spacelike dynamic extra dimension. We have decomposed the geodesic equations to get the motion along the extra dimension and have studied the associated dynamical system when the cross-diagonal element of the Einstein tensor vanishes, and also when it is non-vanishing. Introducing the concept of an energy function along the phase path in terms of the extra-dimensional coordinate, we have examined how the energy function depends on the warp factor. The energy function serves as a measure of the amount of perturbation of geodesic paths along the extra dimension in the region close to the brane. Then we studied the geodesic motion under a conventional metric perturbation in the form of homothetic motion and conformal motion and examined the nature of critical points for a Mashhoon-Wesson-type metric, for timelike and null geodesics when the cross-diagonal term of the Einstein tensor vanishes. Finally we investigated the motion for null and timelike geodesics under the condition when the cross-diagonal element of the Einstein tensor is non-vanishing and examined the effects of perturbation on the critical points of the dynamical system.     

Equatorial Circular Orbits of Neutral Test Particlesin Weyl Spacetimes

A general stability study of equatorial circular orbits in static axially symmetric gravitating systems is presented. We investigate the motion of neutral test particles in circular geodesics such as the marginally stable orbit, the marginally bounded orbit, and the photon orbit are analyzed. We find general expressions for the radius, specific energy, specific angular momentum, and the radius of the marginally stable orbit, both for null and timelike circular geodesics. Different solutions were expressed in different coordinates systems: cylindrical coordinates, oblate spheroidal coordinates, and prolate spheroidal coordinates are considered. We show that all null circular trajectories are unstable, and that there aren’t marginally stable null geodesics, whereas for timelike geodesics the motion can be unbounded, bounded, or circular.     

Geodesics for the NUT metric and gravitational monopoles

In order to provide insight about the physical interpretation of the NUT parameter, we solve the geodesic equations for the NUT metric. We show that the properties of NUT geodesics are similar to the properties of trajectories for charged particles orbiting about a magnetic monopole. In summary, we show that (1) the orbits lie on the surface of a cone, (2) the conserved total angular momentum is the sum of the orbital angular momentum plus the angular momentum due to the monopole field, (3) the monopole field angular momentum is independent of the separation between the source of the gravitational field and the test particle, and (4) the geodesics are almost spherically symmetric. The strong similarities between the NUT geodesics and the electromagnetic monopole suggest that the NUT metric is an exact solution for a gravitational magnetic monopole. However, the subtle difference of being only almost spherically symmetric implies that the analogy is not perfect. The almost spherically symmetric nature of the NUT geodesics suggest that the energy of the Dirac string makes a contribution to the solution. We also construct exact solutions for special orbits, discuss a twin paradox, and speculate about the Dirac quantization condition for a gravitational magnetic monopole.