Universal spacetimes in four dimensions

Universal spacetimes are exact solutions to all higher-order theories of gravity. We study these spacetimes in four dimensions and provide necessary and sufficient conditions for universality for all Petrov types except of type II. We show that all universal spacetimes in four dimensions are algebraically special and Kundt. Petrov type D universal spacetimes are necessarily direct products of two 2-spaces of constant and equal curvature. Furthermore, type II universal spacetimes necessarily possess a null recurrent direction and they admit the above type D direct product metrics as a limit. Such spacetimes represent gravitational waves propagating on these backgrounds. Type III universal spacetimes are also investigated. We determine necessary and sufficient conditions for universality and present an explicit example of a type III universal Kundt non-recurrent metric.publishedVersio

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