Supersymmetric Godel-type Universe in four Dimensions

We generalize the classification of all supersymmetric solutions of pure N=2, D=4 gauged supergravity to the case when external sources are included. It is shown that the source must be an electrically charged dust. We give a particular solution to the resulting equations, that describes a Goedel-type universe preserving one quarter of the supersymmetries.Comment: 6 pages, Latex. v2: references and footnote added. v3: introduction expanded, minor corrections, references added. Final versio

Black holes in Goedel-type universes with a cosmological constant

We discuss supersymmetric black holes embedded in a Goedel-type universe with cosmological constant in five dimensions. The spacetime is a fibration over a four-dimensional Kaehler base manifold, and generically has closed timelike curves. Asymptotically the space approaches a deformation of AdS_5, which suggests that the appearance of closed timelike curves should have an interpretation in some deformation of D=4, N=4 super-Yang-Mills theory. Finally, a Goedel-de Sitter universe is also presented and its causal structure is discussed.Comment: 25 pages, Latex, no figures, references updated, physical discussion of the solutions considerably expanded, holographic stress tensor and conserved charges of Goedel-AdS(5) solution compute

Goedel-type Universes and the Landau Problem

We point out a close relation between a family of Goedel-type solutions of 3+1 General Relativity and the Landau problem in S^2, R^2 and H_2; in particular, the classical geodesics correspond to Larmor orbits in the Landau problem. We discuss the extent of this relation, by analyzing the solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation in these backgrounds. For the R^2 case, this relation was independently noticed in hep-th/0306148. Guided by the analogy with the Landau problem, we speculate on the possible holographic description of a single chronologically safe region.Comment: Latex, 21 pages, 1 figure. v2 missing references to previous work on the subject adde

Dynamics and stability of the Godel universe

We use covariant techniques to describe the properties of the Godel universe and then consider its linear response to a variety of perturbations. Against matter aggregations, we find that the stability of the Godel model depends primarily upon the presence of gradients in the centrifugal energy, and secondarily on the equation of state of the fluid. The latter dictates the behaviour of the model when dealing with homogeneous perturbations. The vorticity of the perturbed Godel model is found to evolve as in almost-FRW spacetimes, with some additional directional effects due to shape distortions. We also consider gravitational-wave perturbations by investigating the evolution of the magnetic Weyl component. This tensor obeys a simple plane-wave equation, which argues for the neutral stability of the Godel model against linear gravity-wave distortions. The implications of the background rotation for scalar-field Godel cosmologies are also discussed.Comment: Revised version, to match paper published in Class. Quantum Gra