Near Extremal Kerr Entropy from AdS_2 Quantum Gravity

We analyze the asymptotic symmetries of near extremal Kerr black holes in four dimensions using the AdS_2/CFT_1 correspondence. We find a Virasoro algebra with central charge c_R=12J that is independent from the Virasoro algebra (with the same central charge) that acts on the degenerate ground state. The energy of the excitations is computed as well, and we can use Cardy's formula to determine the near extremal entropy. Our result is consistent with the Bekenstein-Hawking area law for near extremal Kerr black holes.Comment: 28 pages. v2: references added, typos correcte

On the Stress Tensor of Kerr/CFT

The recently-conjectured Kerr/CFT correspondence posits a field theory dual to dynamics in the near-horizon region of an extreme Kerr black hole with certain boundary conditions. We construct a boundary stress tensor for this theory via covariant phase space techniques. The structure of the stress tensor indicates that any dual theory is a discrete light cone quantum theory, in agreement with recent arguments by Balasubramanian et al. The key technical step in our construction is the addition of an appropriate counter-term to the symplectic structure, which is necessary to make the theory fully covariant and to resolve a subtle problem involving the integrability of charges.Comment: 19 page

No Dynamics in the Extremal Kerr Throat

Motivated by the Kerr/CFT conjecture, we explore solutions of vacuum general relativity whose asymptotic behavior agrees with that of the extremal Kerr throat, sometimes called the Near-Horizon Extreme Kerr (NHEK) geometry. We argue that all such solutions are diffeomorphic to the NHEK geometry itself. The logic proceeds in two steps. We first argue that certain charges must vanish at all times for any solution with NHEK asymptotics. We then analyze these charges in detail for linearized solutions. Though one can choose the relevant charges to vanish at any initial time, these charges are not conserved. As a result, requiring the charges to vanish at all times is a much stronger condition. We argue that all solutions satisfying this condition are diffeomorphic to the NHEK metric.Comment: 42 pages, 3 figures. v3: minor clarifications and correction

A uniqueness theorem for degenerate Kerr-Newman black holes

We show that the domains of dependence of stationary, $I^+$-regular, analytic, electrovacuum space-times with a connected, non-empty, rotating, degenerate event horizon arise from Kerr-Newman space-times

A Note on Conserved Charges of Asymptotically Flat and Anti-de Sitter Spaces in Arbitrary Dimensions

The calculation of conserved charges of black holes is a rich problem, for which many methods are known. Until recently, there was some controversy on the proper definition of conserved charges in asymptotically anti-de Sitter (AdS) spaces in arbitrary dimensions. This paper provides a systematic and explicit Hamiltonian derivation of the energy and the angular momenta of both asymptotically flat and asymptotically AdS spacetimes in any dimension D bigger or equal to 4. This requires as a first step a precise determination of the asymptotic conditions of the metric and of its conjugate momentum. These conditions happen to be achieved in ellipsoidal coordinates adapted to the rotating solutions.The asymptotic symmetry algebra is found to be isomorphic either to the Poincare algebra or to the so(D-1, 2) algebra, as expected. In the asymptotically flat case, the boundary conditions involve a generalization of the parity conditions, introduced by Regge and Teitelboim, which are necessary to make the angular momenta finite. The charges are explicitly computed for Kerr and Kerr-AdS black holes for arbitrary D and they are shown to be in agreement with thermodynamical arguments.Comment: 27 pages; v2 : references added, minor corrections; v3 : replaced to match published version forthcoming in General Relativity and Gravitatio

Heavy quarks in the presence of higher derivative corrections from AdS/CFT

We use the gauge-string duality to study heavy quarks in the presence of higher derivative corrections. These corrections correspond to the finite coupling corrections on the properties of heavy quarks in a hot plasma. In particular, we study the effects of these corrections on the energy loss and the dissociation length of a quark-antiquark pair. We show that the calculated energy loss of heavy quarks through the plasma increases. We also find in general that the dissociation length becomes shorter with the increase of coupling parameters of higher curvature terms.Comment: 22pages, 8 figures, Revised versio

An Infinite Class of Extremal Horizons in Higher Dimensions

We present a new class of near-horizon geometries which solve Einstein's vacuum equations, including a negative cosmological constant, in all even dimensions greater than four. Spatial sections of the horizon are inhomogeneous S^2-bundles over any compact Kaehler-Einstein manifold. For a given base, the solutions are parameterised by one continuous parameter (the angular momentum) and an integer which determines the topology of the horizon. In six dimensions the horizon topology is either S^2 x S^2 or CP^2 # -CP^2. In higher dimensions the S^2-bundles are always non-trivial, and for a fixed base, give an infinite number of distinct horizon topologies. Furthermore, depending on the choice of base we can get examples of near-horizon geometries with a single rotational symmetry (the minimal dimension for this is eight). All of our horizon geometries are consistent with all known topology and symmetry constraints for the horizons of asymptotically flat or globally Anti de Sitter extremal black holes.Comment: 42 pages, latex. v2: corrected section 6.1, two references added. v3: modified angular momentum and corrected area comparison, version to be published in Commun. Math. Phy