Rotating nonuniform black string solutions

We explore via linearized perturbation theory the Gregory-Laflamme instability of rotating black strings with equal magnitude angular momenta. Our results indicate that the Gregory-Laflamme instability persists up to extremality for all even dimensions between six and fourteen. We construct rotating nonuniform black strings with two equal magnitude angular momenta in six dimensions. We see a first indication for the occurrence of a topology changing transition, associated with such rotating nonuniform black strings. Charged nonuniform black string configurations in heterotic string theory are also constructed by employing a solution generation technique.Comment: 36 pages, 10 figures, final versio

New nonuniform black string solutions

We present nonuniform vacuum black strings in five and six spacetime dimensions. The conserved charges and the action of these solutions are computed by employing a quasilocal formalism. We find qualitative agreement of the physical properties of nonuniform black strings in five and six dimensions. Our results offer further evidence that the black hole and the black string branches merge at a topology changing transition. We generate black string solutions of the Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory by using a Harrison transformation. We argue that the basic features of these solutions can be derived from those of the vacuum black string configurations.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figures; v2: more details on numerical method, references added; v3: references added, minor revisions, version accepted by journa

Perturbative non uniform black strings in AdS6{AdS}_6

We construct the non uniform AdS black string solution with a perturbation theory in six dimensions, focusing on the backreacting second order correction. The backreactions at second order give the first relevant corrections to the thermodynamical quantities. Our results show that for configurations with horizon radius and length in the extradimension small compared to the AdS radius, the properties of the non uniform black string are similar to the locally asymptotically flat case. For black strings with small horizon radial coordinate but large length in the extradimension, the thermodynamical properties of the solutions are affected by the AdS curvature.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Harrison transformation and charged black objects in Kaluza-Klein theory

We generate charged black brane solutions in $D-$dimensions in a theory of gravity coupled to a dilaton and an antisymmetric form, by using a Harrison-type transformation. The seed vacuum solutions that we use correspond to uplifted Kaluza-Klein black strings and black holes in $(D-p)$-dimensions. A generalization of the Marolf-Mann quasilocal formalism to the Kaluza-Klein theory is also presented, the global charges of the black objects being computed in this way. We argue that the thermodynamics of the charged solutions can be derived from that of the vacuum configurations. Our results show that all charged Kaluza-Klein solutions constructed by means of Harrison transformations are thermodynamically unstable in a grand canonical ensemble. The general formalism is applied to the case of nonuniform black strings and caged black hole solutions in $D=5, 6$ Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton gravity, whose geometrical properties and thermodynamics are discussed. We argue that the topology changing transition scenario, which was previously proposed in the vacuum case, also holds in this case. Spinning generalizations of the charged black strings are constructed in six dimensions in the slowly rotating limit. We find that the gyromagnetic ratio of these solutions possesses a nontrivial dependence on the nonuniformity parameter.Comment: 42 pages, 12 figure

Black Holes in Higher-Dimensional Gravity

These lectures review some of the recent progress in uncovering the phase structure of black hole solutions in higher-dimensional vacuum Einstein gravity. The two classes on which we focus are Kaluza-Klein black holes, i.e. static solutions with an event horizon in asymptotically flat spaces with compact directions, and stationary solutions with an event horizon in asymptotically flat space. Highlights include the recently constructed multi-black hole configurations on the cylinder and thin rotating black rings in dimensions higher than five. The phase diagram that is emerging for each of the two classes will be discussed, including an intriguing connection that relates the phase structure of Kaluza-Klein black holes with that of asymptotically flat rotating black holes.Comment: latex, 49 pages, 5 figures. Lectures to appear in the proceedings of the Fourth Aegean Summer School, Mytiline, Lesvos, Greece, September 17-22, 200

Instabilities of Black Strings and Branes

We review recent progress on the instabilities of black strings and branes both for pure Einstein gravity as well as supergravity theories which are relevant for string theory. We focus mainly on Gregory-Laflamme instabilities. In the first part of the review we provide a detailed discussion of the classical gravitational instability of the neutral uniform black string in higher dimensional gravity. The uniform black string is part of a larger phase diagram of Kaluza-Klein black holes which will be discussed thoroughly. This phase diagram exhibits many interesting features including new phases, non-uniqueness and horizon-topology changing transitions. In the second part, we turn to charged black branes in supergravity and show how the Gregory-Laflamme instability of the neutral black string implies via a boost/U-duality map similar instabilities for non- and near-extremal smeared branes in string theory. We also comment on instabilities of D-brane bound states. The connection between classical and thermodynamic stability, known as the correlated stability conjecture, is also reviewed and illustrated with examples. Finally, we examine the holographic implications of the Gregory-Laflamme instability for a number of non-gravitational theories including Yang-Mills theories and Little String Theory.Comment: 119 pages, 16 figures. Invited review for Classical and Quantum Gravit

Shaping black holes with free fields

Starting from a metric Ansatz permitting a weak version of Birkhoff's theorem we find static black hole solutions including matter in the form of free scalar and p-form fields, with and without a cosmological constant \Lambda. Single p-form matter fields permit multiple possibilities, including dyonic solutions, self-dual instantons and metrics with Einstein-Kaelher horizons. The inclusion of multiple p-forms on the other hand, arranged in a homogeneous fashion with respect to the horizon geometry, permits the construction of higher dimensional dyonic p-form black holes and four dimensional axionic black holes with flat horizons, when \Lambda<0. It is found that axionic fields regularize black hole solutions in the sense, for example, of permitting regular -- rather than singular -- small mass Reissner-Nordstrom type black holes. Their cosmic string and Vaidya versions are also obtained.Comment: 38 pages. v2: minor changes, published versio