Uniqueness of the asymptotic AdS3 geometry

We explicitly show that in (2+1) dimensions the general solution of the Einstein equations with negative cosmological constant on a neigbourhood of timelike spatial infinity can be obtained from BTZ metrics by coordinate transformations corresponding geometrically to deformations of their spatial infinity surface. Thus, whatever the topology and geometry of the bulk, the metric on the timelike extremities is BTZ.Comment: LaTeX, 8 pages, no figures, version that will appear in Class. Quant. Gra

Aspects of Diffeomorphism and Conformal invariance in classical Liouville theory

The interplay between the diffeomorphism and conformal symmetries (a feature common in quantum field theories) is shown to be exhibited for the case of black holes in two dimensional classical Liouville theory. We show that although the theory is conformally invariant in the near horizon limit, there is a breaking of the diffeomorphism symmetry at the classical level. On the other hand, in the region away from the horizon, the conformal symmetry of the theory gets broken with the diffeomorphism symmetry remaining intact.Comment: Accepted in Euro. Phys. Letters., Title changed, abstract modified, major modifications made in the pape

Three Dimensional Gravity From SU(2) Yang-Mills Theory in Two Dimensions

We argue that two dimensional classical SU(2) Yang-Mills theory describes the embedding of Riemann surfaces in three dimensional curved manifolds. Specifically, the Yang-Mills field strength tensor computes the Riemannian curvature tensor of the ambient space in a thin neighborhood of the surface. In this sense the two dimensional gauge theory then serves as a source of three dimensional gravity. In particular, if the three dimensional manifold is flat it corresponds to the vacuum of the Yang-Mills theory. This implies that all solutions to the original Gauss-Codazzi surface equations determine two dimensional integrable models with a SU(2) Lax pair. Furthermore, the three dimensional SU(2) Chern-Simons theory describes the Hamiltonian dynamics of two dimensional Riemann surfaces in a four dimensional flat space-time

The boundary field theory induced by the Chern-Simons theory

The Chern-Simons theory defined on a 3-dimensional manifold with boundary is written as a two-dimensional field theory defined only on the boundary of the three-manifold. The resulting theory is, essentially, the pullback to the boundary of a symplectic structure defined on the space of auxiliary fields in terms of which the connection one-form of the Chern-Simons theory is expressed when solving the condition of vanishing curvature. The counting of the physical degrees of freedom living in the boundary associated to the model is performed using Dirac's canonical analysis for the particular case of the gauge group SU(2). The result is that the specific model has one physical local degree of freedom. Moreover, the role of the boundary conditions on the original Chern- Simons theory is displayed and clarified in an example, which shows how the gauge content as well as the structure of the constraints of the induced boundary theory is affected.Comment: 10 page

Supergeometry of Three Dimensional Black Holes

We show how the supersymmetric properties of three dimensional black holes can be obtained algebraically. The black hole solutions are constructed as quotients of the supergroup $OSp(1|\,2;R)$ by a discrete subgroup of its isometry supergroup. The generators of the action of the isometry supergroup which commute with these identifications are found. These yield the supersymmetries for the black hole as found in recent studies as well as the usual geometric isometries. It is also shown that in the limit of vanishing cosmological constant, the black hole vacuum becomes a null orbifold, a solution previously discussed in the context of string theory.Comment: 12 pages, harvmac, discussion of rotating black hole added, some minor corrections, reference adde

Time-Symmetric Initial Data for Multi-Body Solutions in Three Dimensions

Time-symmetric initial data for two-body solutions in three dimensional anti-deSitter gravity are found. The spatial geometry has constant negative curvature and is constructed as a quotient of two-dimensional hyperbolic space. Apparent horizons correspond to closed geodesics. In an open universe, it is shown that two black holes cannot exist separately, but are necessarily enclosed by a third horizon. In a closed universe, two separate black holes can exist provided there is an additional image mass.Comment: 12 pages, harvmac macro, minor changes in wordin

Embeddings of the Virasoro algebra and black hole entropy

We consider embeddings of the Virasoro algebra into other Virasoro algebras with different central charges. A Virasoro algebra with central charge c (assumed to be a positive integer) and zero mode operator L_0 can be embedded into another Virasoro algebra with central charge one and zero mode operator c L_0. We point out that this provides a new route to investigate the black hole entropy problem in 2+1 dimensions.Comment: 4 pages (twocolumn), latex, no figures. Reference added. To appear in Phys.Rev.Let

Orientifolded Locally AdS3 Geometries

Continuing the analysis of [arXiv:1003.4089[hep-th]], we classify all locally AdS3 stationary axi-symmetric unorientable solutions to AdS3 Einstein gravity and show that they are obtained by applying certain orientifold projection on AdS3, BTZ or AdS3 self-dual orbifold, respectively O-AdS3, O-BTZ and O-SDO geometries. Depending on the orientifold fixed surface, the O-surface, which is either a space-like 2D plane or cylinder, or a light-like 2D plane or cylinder one can distinguish four distinct cases. For the space-like orientifold plane or cylinder cases these geometries solve AdS3 Einstein equations and are hence locally AdS3 everywhere except at the O-surface, where there is a delta-function source. For the light-like cases the geometry is a solution to Einstein equations even at the O-surface. We discuss the causal structure for static, extremal and general rotating O-BTZ and O-SDO cases as well as the geodesic motion on these geometries. We also discuss orientifolding Poincare patch AdS3 and AdS2 geometries as a way to geodesic completion of these spaces and comment on the 2D CFT dual to the O-geometries.Comment: 26 page, 4 .eps figure

Multi-Black-Holes in Three Dimensions

We construct time-dependent multi-centre solutions to three-dimensional general relativity with zero or negative cosmological constant. These solutions correspond to dynamical systems of freely falling black holes and conical singularities, with a multiply connected spacetime topology. Stationary multi-black-hole solutions are possible only in the extreme black hole case.Comment: 8 pages, \LaTex, 4 figures (available on request), GCR 94/02/0