Analytic calculation of quasi-normal modes

We discuss the analytic calculation of quasi-normal modes of various types of perturbations of black holes both in asymptotically flat and anti-de Sitter spaces. We obtain asymptotic expressions and also show how corrections can be calculated perturbatively. We pay special attention to low-frequency modes in anti-de Sitter space because they govern the hydrodynamic properties of a gauge theory fluid according to the AdS/CFT correspondence. The latter may have experimental consequencies for the quark-gluon plasma formed in heavy ion collisions.Comment: 33 pages, prepared for the proceedings of the 4th Aegean Summer School on Black Holes, Mytilene, Greece, September 200

Perturbative calculation of quasi-normal modes of AdS Schwarzschild black holes

We calculate analytically quasi-normal modes of AdS Schwarzschild black holes including first-order corrections. We consider massive scalar, gravitational and electromagnetic perturbations. Our results are in good agreement with numerical calculations. In the case of electromagnetic perturbations, ours is the first calculation to provide an analytic expression for quasi-normal frequencies, because the effective potential vanishes at zeroth order. We show that the first-order correction is logarithmic.Comment: 20 pages incl. 8 figures (using eepic and color

Asymptotic form of quasi-normal modes of large AdS black holes

We discuss a method of calculating analytically the asymptotic form of quasi-normal frequencies for large AdS black holes in five dimensions. In this case, the wave equation reduces to a Heun equation. We show that the Heun equation may be approximated by a Hypergeometric equation at large frequencies. Thus we obtain the asymptotic form of quasi-normal frequencies in agreement with numerical results. We also present a simple monodromy argument that leads to the same results. We include a comparison with the three-dimensional case in which exact expressions are derived.Comment: 10 page

On quasi-normal modes and the AdS_5/CFT_4 correspondence

We discuss the quasi-normal modes of massive scalar perturbations of black holes in AdS_5 in conjunction with the AdS/CFT correspondence. On the gravity side, we solve the wave equation and obtain an expression for the asymptotic form of quasi-normal frequencies. We then show that these expressions agree with those obtained from a CFT defined on $\mathbb{R} \times S^3$ in a certain scaling limit, by identifying Euclidean time with one of the periodic coordinates. This generalizes known exact results in three dimensions (BTZ black hole). As a by-product, we derive the standard energy quantization condition in AdS by a simple monodromy argument in complexified AdS space. This argument relies on an unphysical singularity.Comment: v2: 20 pages, added discussion on geometric origin of results, corrected typos; to appear in Nucl. Phys.

Perturbations of anti-de Sitter black holes

I review perturbations of black holes in asymptotically anti-de Sitter space. I show how the quasi-normal modes governing these perturbations can be calculated analytically and discuss the implications on the hydrodynamics of gauge theory fluids per the AdS/CFT correspondence. I also discuss phase transitions of hairy black holes with hyperbolic horizons and the dual superconductors emphasizing the analytical calculation of their properties.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figures, prepared for the proceedings of the 5th Aegean Summer School "From Gravity to Thermal Gauge Theories: the AdS/CFT Correspondence," Milos, Greece, September 2009

Geometric Finiteness and Non-quasinormal Modes of the BTZ Black Hole

The BTZ black hole is geometrically finite. This means that its three dimensional hyperbolic structure as encoded in its metric is in 1-1 correspondence with the Teichmuller space of its boundary, which is a two torus. The equivalence of different Teichmuller parameters related by the action of the modular group therefore requires the invariance of the monodromies of the solutions of the wave equation around the inner and outer horizons in the BTZ background. We show that this invariance condition leads to the non-quasinormal mode frequencies discussed by Birmingham and Carlip.Comment: 8 Pages, Latex file, minor changes in the text, journal versio

Low frequency quasi-normal modes of AdS black holes

We calculate analytically low frequency quasi-normal modes of gravitational perturbations of AdS Schwarzschild black holes in $d$ dimensions. We arrive at analytic expressions which are in agreement with their counterparts from linearized hydrodynamics in $S^{d-2}\times \mathbb{R}$, in accordance with the AdS/CFT correspondence. Our results are also in good agreement with results of numerical calculations.Comment: 14 page

Perturbative calculation of quasi-normal modes of arbitrary spin in Schwarzschild spacetime

We calculate analytically the asymptotic form of quasi-normal modes of perturbations of arbitrary spin of a Schwarzschild black hole including first-order corrections. We use the Teukolsky equation which applies to both bosonic and fermionic modes. Remarkably, we arrive at explicit expressions which coincide with those derived using the Regge-Wheeler equation for integer spin. Our zeroth-order expressions agree with the results of WKB analysis. In the case of Dirac fermions, our results are in good agreement with numerical data.Comment: 13 pages incl. 3 figures, v2: corrected error, generalized results to arbitrary spi