The classification of static vacuum space-times containing an asymptotically flat spacelike hypersurface with compact interior

We prove non-existence of static, vacuum, appropriately regular, asymptotically flat black hole space-times with degenerate (not necessarily connected) components of the event horizon. This finishes the classification of static, vacuum, asymptotically flat domains of outer communication in an appropriate class of space-times, showing that the domains of outer communication of the Schwarzschild black holes exhaust the space of appropriately regular black hole exteriors.Comment: This version includes an addendum with a corrected proof of non-existence of zeros of the Killing vector at degenerate horizons. A problem with yet another Lemma is pointed out; this problem does not arise if one assumes analyticity of the metric. An alternative solution, that does not require analyticity, has been given in arXiv:1004.0513 [gr-qc] under appropriate global condition

The Angular Tension of Black Holes

Angular tension is an ADM charge that contributes a work term to the first law of black hole mechanics when the range of an angular coordinate is varied and leads to a new Smarr formula for stationary black holes. A phase diagram for singly-spinning D=5 black holes shows that angular tension resolves the degeneracies between spherical black holes and (dipole) black rings and captures the physics of the black ring balance condition. Angular tension depends on the behavior of the metric at rotational axes and we speculate on its relation to rod/domain structure characterizations of higher dimensional black holes and black hole uniqueness theorems.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure; v2 references adde

On the topology of stationary black holes

We prove that the domain of outer communication of a stationary, globally hyperbolic spacetime satisfying the null energy condition must be simply connected. Under suitable additional hypotheses, this implies, in particular, that each connected component of a cross-section of the event horizon of a stationary black hole must have spherical topology.Comment: 7 pages, Late

Towards a classification of static electro-vacuum space-times containing an asymptotically flat spacelike hypersurface with compact interior

We show that static electro-vacuum black hole space-times containing an asymptotically flat spacelike hypersurface with compact interior and with both degenerate and non-degenerate components of the event horizon do not exist, under the supplementary hypothesis that all degenerate components of the event horizon have charges of the same sign. This extends previous uniqueness theorems of Simon and Masood-ul-Alam (where only non-degenerate horizons were allowed) and Heusler (where only degenerate horizons were allowed).Comment: Reverted to original v1; v2 was a result of a manipulation error, and was meant to be an update to gr-qc/9809088. The problems adressed in the addendum in v2 of gr-qc/9809088 apply also to this paper, and are similarly taken care of by the addendum to gr-qc/9809088, and by the analysis in arXiv:1004.0513 [gr-qc

On completeness of orbits of Killing vector fields

A Theorem is proved which reduces the problem of completeness of orbits of Killing vector fields in maximal globally hyperbolic, say vacuum, space--times to some properties of the orbits near the Cauchy surface. In particular it is shown that all Killing orbits are complete in maximal developements of asymptotically flat Cauchy data, or of Cauchy data prescribed on a compact manifold. This result gives a significant strengthening of the uniqueness theorems for black holes.Comment: 16 pages, Latex, preprint NSF-ITP-93-4

On the uniqueness of smooth, stationary black holes in vacuum

We prove a conditional "no hair" theorem for smooth manifolds: if $E$ is the domain of outer communication of a smooth, regular, stationary Einstein vacuum, and if a technical condition relating the Ernst potential and Killing scalar is satisfied on the bifurcate sphere, then $E$ is locally isometric to the domain of outer communication of a Kerr space-time.Comment: Various correction