The type N Karlhede bound is sharp

We present a family of four-dimensional Lorentzian manifolds whose invariant classification requires the seventh covariant derivative of the curvature tensor. The spacetimes in questions are null radiation, type N solutions on an anti-de Sitter background. The large order of the bound is due to the fact that these spacetimes are properly $CH_2$, i.e., curvature homogeneous of order 2 but non-homogeneous. This means that tetrad components of $R, \nabla R, \nabla^{(2)}R$ are constant, and that essential coordinates first appear as components of $\nabla^{(3)}R$. Covariant derivatives of orders 4,5,6 yield one additional invariant each, and $\nabla^{(7)}R$ is needed for invariant classification. Thus, our class proves that the bound of 7 on the order of the covariant derivative, first established by Karlhede, is sharp. Our finding corrects an outstanding assertion that invariant classification of four-dimensional Lorentzian manifolds requires at most $\nabla^{(6)}R$.Comment: 7 pages, typos corrected, added citation and acknowledgemen

Alignment and algebraically special tensors in Lorentzian geometry

We develop a dimension-independent theory of alignment in Lorentzian geometry, and apply it to the tensor classification problem for the Weyl and Ricci tensors. First, we show that the alignment condition is equivalent to the PND equation. In 4D, this recovers the usual Petrov types. For higher dimensions, we prove that, in general, a Weyl tensor does not possess aligned directions. We then go on to describe a number of additional algebraic types for the various alignment configurations. For the case of second-order symmetric (Ricci) tensors, we perform the classification by considering the geometric properties of the corresponding alignment variety.Comment: 19 pages. Revised presentatio

Generalization of the Geroch-Held-Penrose formalism to higher dimensions

Geroch, Held and Penrose invented a formalism for studying spacetimes admitting one or two preferred null directions. This approach is very useful for studying algebraically special spacetimes and their perturbations. In the present paper, the formalism is generalized to higher-dimensional spacetimes. This new formalism leads to equations that are considerably simpler than those of the higher-dimensional Newman-Penrose formalism employed previously. The dynamics of p-form test fields is analyzed using the new formalism and some results concerning algebraically special p-form fields are proved.Comment: 24 page

Vanishing Scalar Invariant Spacetimes in Higher Dimensions

We study manifolds with Lorentzian signature and prove that all scalar curvature invariants of all orders vanish in a higher-dimensional Lorentzian spacetime if and only if there exists an aligned non-expanding, non-twisting, geodesic null direction along which the Riemann tensor has negative boost order.Comment: final versio

Exceptional orthogonal polynomials and the Darboux transformation

We adapt the notion of the Darboux transformation to the context of polynomial Sturm-Liouville problems. As an application, we characterize the recently described $X_m$ Laguerre polynomials in terms of an isospectral Darboux transformation. We also show that the shape-invariance of these new polynomial families is a direct consequence of the permutability property of the Darboux-Crum transformation.Comment: corrected abstract, added references, minor correction

Black rings with a small electric charge: gyromagnetic ratios and algebraic alignment

We study electromagnetic test fields in the background of vacuum black rings using Killing vectors as vector potentials. We consider both spacetimes with a rotating S^1 and with a rotating S^2 and we demonstrate, in particular, that the gyromagnetic ratio of slightly charged black rings takes the value g=3 (this will in fact apply to a wider class of spacetimes). We also observe that a S^2-rotating black ring immersed in an external "aligned" magnetic field completely expels the magnetic flux in the extremal limit. Finally, we discuss the mutual alignment of principal null directions of the Maxwell 2-form and of the Weyl tensor, and the algebraic type of exact charged black rings. In contrast to spherical black holes, charged rings display new distinctive features and provide us with an explicit example of algebraically general (type G) spacetimes in higher dimensions. Appendix A contains some global results on black rings with a rotating 2-sphere. Appendix C shows that g=D-2 in any D>=4 dimensions for test electromagnetic fields generated by a time translation.Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures. v2: new appendix C finds the gyromagnetic ratio g=D-2 in any dimensions, two new references. To appear in JHE

Quasi-exact solvability beyond the SL(2) algebraization

We present evidence to suggest that the study of one dimensional quasi-exactly solvable (QES) models in quantum mechanics should be extended beyond the usual \sla(2) approach. The motivation is twofold: We first show that certain quasi-exactly solvable potentials constructed with the \sla(2) Lie algebraic method allow for a new larger portion of the spectrum to be obtained algebraically. This is done via another algebraization in which the algebraic hamiltonian cannot be expressed as a polynomial in the generators of \sla(2). We then show an example of a new quasi-exactly solvable potential which cannot be obtained within the Lie-algebraic approach.Comment: Submitted to the proceedings of the 2005 Dubna workshop on superintegrabilit

Quasi-Exact Solvability and the direct approach to invariant subspaces

We propose a more direct approach to constructing differential operators that preserve polynomial subspaces than the one based on considering elements of the enveloping algebra of sl(2). This approach is used here to construct new exactly solvable and quasi-exactly solvable quantum Hamiltonians on the line which are not Lie-algebraic. It is also applied to generate potentials with multiple algebraic sectors. We discuss two illustrative examples of these two applications: an interesting generalization of the Lam\'e potential which posses four algebraic sectors, and a quasi-exactly solvable deformation of the Morse potential which is not Lie-algebraic.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure

VSI_i spacetimes and the epsilon-property

We investigate Lorentzian spacetimes where all zeroth and first order curvature invariants vanish and discuss how this class differs from the one where all curvature invariants vanish (VSI). We show that for VSI spacetimes all components of the Riemann tensor and its derivatives up to some fixed order can be made arbitrarily small. We discuss this in more detail by way of examples.Comment: To appear in JM

Exceptional Askey-Wilson type polynomials through Darboux-Crum transformations

An alternative derivation is presented of the infinitely many exceptional Wilson and Askey-Wilson polynomials, which were introduced by the present authors in 2009. Darboux-Crum transformations intertwining the discrete quantum mechanical systems of the original and the exceptional polynomials play an important role. Infinitely many continuous Hahn polynomials are derived in the same manner. The present method provides a simple proof of the shape invariance of these systems as in the corresponding cases of the exceptional Laguerre and Jacobi polynomials.Comment: 24 pages. Comments and references added. To appear in J.Phys.