Hidden Symmetries of Higher Dimensional Black Holes and Uniqueness of the Kerr-NUT-(A)dS spacetime

We prove that the most general solution of the Einstein equations with the cosmological constant which admits a principal conformal Killing-Yano tensor is the Kerr-NUT-(A)dS metric. Even when the Einstein equations are not imposed, any spacetime admitting such hidden symmetry can be written in a canonical form which guarantees the following properties: it is of the Petrov type D, it allows the separation of variables for the Hamilton-Jacobi, Klein-Gordon, and Dirac equations, the geodesic motion in such a spacetime is completely integrable. These results naturally generalize the results obtained earlier in four dimensions.Comment: 5 pages, no figure

Parallel-propagated frame along null geodesics in higher-dimensional black hole spacetimes

In [arXiv:0803.3259] the equations describing the parallel transport of orthonormal frames along timelike (spacelike) geodesics in a spacetime admitting a non-degenerate principal conformal Killing-Yano 2-form h were solved. The construction employed is based on studying the Darboux subspaces of the 2-form F obtained as a projection of h along the geodesic trajectory. In this paper we demonstrate that, although slightly modified, a similar construction is possible also in the case of null geodesics. In particular, we explicitly construct the parallel-transported frames along null geodesics in D=4,5,6 Kerr-NUT-(A)dS spacetimes. We further discuss the parallel transport along principal null directions in these spacetimes. Such directions coincide with the eigenvectors of the principal conformal Killing-Yano tensor. Finally, we show how to obtain a parallel-transported frame along null geodesics in the background of the 4D Plebanski-Demianski metric which admits only a conformal generalization of the Killing-Yano tensor.Comment: 17 pages, no figure

Commuting symmetry operators of the Dirac equation, Killing-Yano and Schouten-Nijenhuis brackets

In this paper we derive the most general first-order symmetry operator commuting with the Dirac operator in all dimensions and signatures. Such an operator splits into Clifford even and Clifford odd parts which are given in terms of odd Killing-Yano and even closed conformal Killing-Yano inhomogeneous forms respectively. We study commutators of these symmetry operators and give necessary and sufficient conditions under which they remain of the first-order. In this specific setting we can introduce a Killing-Yano bracket, a bilinear operation acting on odd Killing-Yano and even closed conformal Killing-Yano forms, and demonstrate that it is closely related to the Schouten-Nijenhuis bracket. An important non-trivial example of vanishing Killing-Yano brackets is given by Dirac symmetry operators generated from the principal conformal Killing-Yano tensor [hep-th/0612029]. We show that among these operators one can find a complete subset of mutually commuting operators. These operators underlie separability of the Dirac equation in Kerr-NUT-(A)dS spacetimes in all dimensions [arXiv:0711.0078].Comment: 37 pages, no figure

Bi-Legendrian manifolds and paracontact geometry

We study the interplays between paracontact geometry and the theory of bi-Legendrian manifolds. We interpret the bi-Legendrian connection of a bi-Legendrian manifold M as the paracontact connection of a canonical paracontact structure induced on M and then we discuss many consequences of this result both for bi-Legendrian and for paracontact manifolds. Finally new classes of examples of paracontact manifolds are presented.Comment: to appear in Int. J. Geom. Meth. Mod. Phy

Do Killing-Yano tensors form a Lie Algebra?

Killing-Yano tensors are natural generalizations of Killing vectors. We investigate whether Killing-Yano tensors form a graded Lie algebra with respect to the Schouten-Nijenhuis bracket. We find that this proposition does not hold in general, but that it does hold for constant curvature spacetimes. We also show that Minkowski and (anti)-deSitter spacetimes have the maximal number of Killing-Yano tensors of each rank and that the algebras of these tensors under the SN bracket are relatively simple extensions of the Poincare and (A)dS symmetry algebras.Comment: 17 page

3-quasi-Sasakian manifolds

In the present paper we carry on a systematic study of 3-quasi-Sasakian manifolds. In particular we prove that the three Reeb vector fields generate an involutive distribution determining a canonical totally geodesic and Riemannian foliation. Locally, the leaves of this foliation turn out to be Lie groups: either the orthogonal group or an abelian one. We show that 3-quasi-Sasakian manifolds have a well-defined rank, obtaining a rank-based classification. Furthermore, we prove a splitting theorem for these manifolds assuming the integrability of one of the almost product structures. Finally, we show that the vertical distribution is a minimum of the corrected energy.Comment: 17 pages, minor modifications, references update

A Deformation of Sasakian Structure in the Presence of Torsion and Supergravity Solutions

We discuss a deformation of Sasakian structure in the presence of totally skew-symmetric torsion by introducing odd dimensional manifolds whose metric cones are K\"ahler with torsion. It is shown that such a geometry inherits similar properties to those of Sasakian geometry. As an example of them, we present an explicit expression of local metrics and see how Sasakian structure is deformed by the presence of torsion. We also demonstrate that our example of the metrics admits the existence of hidden symmetries described by non-trivial odd-rank generalized closed conformal Killing-Yano tensors. Furthermore, using these metrics as an {\it ansatz}, we construct exact solutions in five dimensional minimal (un-)gauged supergravity and eleven dimensional supergravity. Finally, we discuss the global structures of the solutions and obtain regular metrics on compact manifolds in five dimensions, which give natural generalizations of Sasaki--Einstein manifolds $Y^{p,q}$ and $L^{a,b,c}$. We also discuss regular metrics on non-compact manifolds in eleven dimensions.Comment: 38 pages, 1 table, v2: version to appear in Class. Quant. Gra

Conformal Yano-Killing tensor for the Kerr metric and conserved quantities

Properties of (skew-symmetric) conformal Yano--Killing tensors are reviewed. Explicit forms of three symmetric conformal Killing tensors in Kerr spacetime are obtained from the Yano--Killing tensor. The relation between spin-2 fields and solutions to the Maxwell equations is used in the construction of a new conserved quantity which is quadratic in terms of the Weyl tensor. The formula obtained is similar to the functional obtained from the Bel--Robinson tensor and is examined in Kerr spacetime. A new interpretation of the conserved quantity obtained is proposed.Comment: 29 page

No more CKY two-forms in the NHEK

We show that in the near-horizon limit of a Kerr-NUT-AdS black hole, the space of conformal Killing-Yano two-forms does not enhance and remains of dimension two. The same holds for an analogous polar limit in the case of extremal NUT charge. We also derive the conformal Killing-Yano $p$-form equation for any background in arbitrary dimension in the form of parallel transport.Comment: 36 pages, 12 pdf figures, v2: minor change

Hidden symmetries and Killing tensors on curved spaces

Higher order symmetries corresponding to Killing tensors are investigated. The intimate relation between Killing-Yano tensors and non-standard supersymmetries is pointed out. In the Dirac theory on curved spaces, Killing-Yano tensors generate Dirac type operators involved in interesting algebraic structures as dynamical algebras or even infinite dimensional algebras or superalgebras. The general results are applied to space-times which appear in modern studies. One presents the infinite dimensional superalgebra of Dirac type operators on the 4-dimensional Euclidean Taub-NUT space that can be seen as a twisted loop algebra. The existence of the conformal Killing-Yano tensors is investigated for some spaces with mixed Sasakian structures.Comment: 12 pages; talk presented at Group 27 Colloquium, Yerevan, Armenia, August 200