We study Kundt solutions of topologically massive gravity (TMG) and the new theory of massive gravity (NMG), proposed recently in arXiv:0901.1766. For topologically massive gravity, only the CSI Kundt solutions (i.e., solutions with constant scalar polynomial curvature invariants) were found very recently in arXiv:0906.3559. We find non-CSI explicit solutions of TMG, when $Λ=-μ^2$, and these are the first such solutions. For the new theory of massive gravity, after reducing the field equations to a manageable system of differential equations, the CSI solutions are discussed in detail, with a focus on a subfamily whose solutions are particulary easy to describe. A number of properties of Kundt solutions of TMG and NMG, such as an identification of solutions which lie at the intersection of the full non-linear and linearized theories, are also derived.
In recent literature there appeared conflicting claims about whether the Ozsváth-Robinson-Rózga family of type N electrovac spacetimes of the Kundt class with $Λ$ is complete. We show that indeed it is.
We present new exact solutions of the Einstein-Yang-Mills system. The solutions are described by a null Yang-Mills field in a Kundt spacetime. They generalize a previously known solution for a metric of $pp$ wave type. The solutions are formally of Petrov type III.
Supersymmetric solutions of supergravity theories, and consequently metrics with special holonomy, have played an important role in the development of string theory. We describe how a Lorentzian manifold is either completely reducible, and thus essentially known, or not completely reducible so that there exists a degenerate holonomy invariant lightlike subspace and consequently admits a covariantly constant or a recurrent null vector and belongs to the higher-dimensional Kundt class of spacetimes. These Kundt spacetimes (which contain the vanishing and constant curvature invariant spacetimes a…
Using the invariant form of the equation of geodesic deviation, which describes relative motion of free test particles, we investigate a general family of D-dimensional Kundt spacetimes. We demonstrate that local influence of the gravitational field can be naturally decomposed into Newton-type tidal effects typical for type II spacetimes, longitudinal deformations mainly present in spacetimes of algebraic type III, and type N purely transverse effects corresponding to gravitational waves with D(D-3)/2 independent polarization states. We explicitly study the most important examples, namely exac…
The Gauss-Bonnet gravity is a special case of so-called Quadratic Gravity, which is an extension of Einstein's theory with additional terms in action that are quadratic combinations of the Riemann tensor and its contractions. These corrections are needed, for example, in perturbative quantum gravity. We consider the family of Kundt spacetimes, which is defined in a purely geometrical way by admitting a shear-free, twist-free and expansion-free null geodesic congruence. In particular, we focus on the Kundt solutions without gyratonic terms, and we investigate the constraints imposed by the Eins…
We obtain new solutions of topologically massive gravity. We find the general Kundt solutions, which in three dimensions are spacetimes admitting an expansion-free null geodesic congruence. The solutions are generically of algebraic type II, but special cases are types III, N or D. Those of type D are the known spacelike-squashed AdS_3 solutions, and of type N are the known AdS pp-waves or new solutions. Those of types II and III are the first known solutions of these algebraic types. We present explicitly the Kundt solutions that are CSI spacetimes, for which all scalar polynomial curvature i…
We systematically investigate the complete class of vacuum solutions in the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity theory which belong to the Kundt family of non-expanding, shear-free and twist-free geometries (without gyratonic matter terms) in any dimension. The field equations are explicitly derived and simplified, and their solutions classified into three distinct subfamilies. Algebraic structures of the Weyl and Ricci curvature tensors are determined. The corresponding curvature scalars directly enter the invariant form of equation of geodesic deviation, enabling us to understand the specific loca…
We construct Kundt solutions of Minimal Massive Gravity theory and show that, similar to Topologically Massive Gravity (TMG), most of them are constant scalar invariant (CSI) spacetimes, that correspond to deformations of round and warped (A)dS. We also find an explicit non-CSI Kundt solution at the merger point. Finally, we give their algebraic classification with respect to the traceless Ricci tensor (Segre classification) and show that their Segre-types match with the types of their counterparts in TMG.
We present an algebraic classification, based on the null alignment properties of the Weyl tensor, of the general Kundt class of spacetimes in arbitrary dimension for which the non-expanding, non-twisting, shear-free null direction \boldk is a (multiple) Weyl aligned null direction (WAND). No field equations are used, so that the results apply not only to Einstein's gravity and its direct extension to higher dimensions, but also to any metric theory of gravity which admits the Kundt spacetimes. By an explicit evaluation of the Weyl tensor in a natural null frame we demonstrate that all Kundt g…
We investigate the fully general class of non-expanding, non-twisting and shear-free D-dimensional geometries using the invariant form of geodesic deviation equation which describes the relative motion of free test particles. We show that the local effect of such gravitational fields on the particles basically consists of isotropic motion caused by the cosmological constant Lambda, Newtonian-type tidal deformations typical for spacetimes of algebraic type D or II, longitudinal motion characteristic for spacetimes of type III, and type N purely transverse effects of exact gravitational waves wi…
In our previous paper [Phys. Rev. D 89 (2014) 124029], cited as [1], we attempted to find Robinson-Trautman-type solutions of Einstein's equations representing gyratonic sources (matter field in the form of an aligned null fluid, or particles propagating with the speed of light, with an additional internal spin). Unfortunately, by making a mistake in our calculations, we came to the wrong conclusion that such solutions do not exist. We are now correcting this mistake. In fact, this allows us to explicitly find a new large family of gyratonic solutions in the Robinson-Trautman class of spacetim…
We present and analyze exact solutions of the Einstein-Maxwell equations in higher dimensions which form a large subclass of the Kundt family of spacetimes. We assume that the cosmological constant may be nonvanishing, and the matter consists of a background aligned electromagnetic field and an additional pure radiation (gyratonic) field with a spin. We show that the field equations reduce to a set of linear equations on the transverse space which can be solved exactly and expressed in terms of the Green functions. We thus find explicit exact gyratonic gravitational and electromagnetic fields …
We study universal electromagnetic (test) fields, i.e., p-forms fields F that solve simultaneously (virtually) any generalized electrodynamics (containing arbitrary powers and derivatives of F in the field equations) in n spacetime dimensions. One of the main results is a sufficient condition: any null F that solves Maxwell's equations in a Kundt spacetime of aligned Weyl and traceless-Ricci type III is universal (in particular thus providing examples of p-form Galileons on curved Kundt backgrounds). In addition, a few examples in Kundt spacetimes of Weyl type II are presented. Some necessary …
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. Su…
We study almost universal spacetimes - spacetimes for which the field equations of any generalized gravity with the Lagrangian constructed from the metric, the Riemann tensor and its covariant derivatives of arbitrary order reduce to one single differential equation and one algebraic condition for the Ricci scalar. We prove that all d-dimensional Kundt spacetimes of Weyl type III and traceless Ricci type N are almost universal. Explicit examples of Weyl type II almost universal Kundt metrics are also given. The considerable simplification of the field equations of higher-order gravity theories…
We investigate the Weyl tensor algebraic structure of a fully general family of D-dimensional geometries that admit a non-twisting and shear-free null vector field k. From the coordinate components of the curvature tensor we explicitly derive all Weyl scalars of various boost weights. This enables us to give a complete algebraic classification of the metrics in the case when the optically privileged null direction k is a (multiple) Weyl aligned null direction (WAND). No field equations are applied, so that the results are valid not only in Einstein's gravity, including its extension to higher …
Memory effects are studied in the simplest scalar-tensor theory, the Brans--Dicke (BD) theory. To this end, we introduce, in BD theory, novel Kundt spacetimes (without and with gyratonic terms), which serve as backgrounds for the ensuing analysis on memory. The BD parameter $ω$ and the scalar field ($ϕ$) profile, expectedly, distinguishes between different solutions. Choosing specific localised forms for the free metric functions $H'(u)$ (related to the wave profile) and $J(u)$ (the gyraton) we obtain displacement memory effects using both geodesics and geodesic deviation. An interesting and e…
We study the existence of a non-spacelike isometry, ζ, in higher dimensional Kundt spacetimes with constant scalar curvature invariants (CSI). We present the particular forms for the null or timelike Killing vectors and a set of constraints for the metric functions in each case. Within the class of N dimensional CSI Kundt spacetimes, admitting a non-spacelike isometry, we determine which of these can admit a covariantly constant null vector that also satisfy ζ_{[a;b]} = 0.
We determine the class of $p$-forms $F$ which possess vanishing scalar invariants (VSI) at arbitrary order in a $n$-dimensional spacetime. Namely, we prove that $F$ is VSI if and only if it is of type N, its multiple null direction $l$ is "degenerate Kundt", and $\nabla_{l}F=0$. The result is theory-independent. Next, we discuss the special case of Maxwell fields, both at the level of test fields and of the full Einstein-Maxwell equations. These describe electromagnetic non-expanding waves propagating in various Kundt spacetimes. We further point out that a subset of these solutions possesses …
We study Lorentzian spacetimes for which all scalar invariants constructed from the Riemann tensor and its covariant derivatives are constant ($CSI$ spacetimes). We obtain a number of general results in arbitrary dimensions. We study and construct warped product $CSI$ spacetimes and higher-dimensional Kundt $CSI$ spacetimes. We show how these spacetimes can be constructed from locally homogeneous spaces and $VSI$ spacetimes. The results suggest a number of conjectures. In particular, it is plausible that for $CSI$ spacetimes that are not locally homogeneous the Weyl type is $II$, $III$, $N$ or…
We present a general solution of the coupled Einstein-Maxwell field equations (without the source charges and currents) in three spacetime dimensions. We also admit any value of the cosmological constant. The whole family of such $Λ$-electrovacuum local solutions splits into two distinct subclasses, namely the non-expanding Kundt class and the expanding Robinson-Trautman class. While the Kundt class only admits electromagnetic fields which are aligned along the geometrically privileged null congruence, the Robinson-Trautman class admits both aligned and also more complex non-aligned Maxwell fi…
Under a weak assumption of the existence of a geodesic null congruence, we present the general solution of the Einstein field equations in three dimensions with any value of the cosmological constant, admitting an aligned null matter field, and also gyratons (a matter field in the form of a null dust with an additional internal spin). The general local solution consists of the expanding Robinson-Trautman class and the non-expanding Kundt class. The gyratonic solutions reduce to spacetimes with a pure radiation matter field when the spin is set to zero. Without matter fields, we obtain new form…
We study the gravitational waves in spacetimes of arbitrary dimension. They generalize the pp-waves and the Kundt waves, obtained earlier in four dimensions. Explicit solutions of the Einstein and Einstein-Maxwell equations are derived for an arbitrary cosmological constant.
We study a class of constant scalar invariant (CSI) spacetimes, which belong to the higher-dimensional Kundt class, that are solutions of supergravity. We review the known CSI supergravity solutions in this class and we explicitly present a number of new exact CSI supergravity solutions, some of which are Einstein.
Vacuum solutions of Lovelock gravity in the presence of a recurrent null vector field (a subset of Kundt spacetimes) are studied. We first discuss the general field equations, which constrain both the base space and the profile functions. While choosing a "generic" base space puts stronger constraints on the profile, in special cases there also exist solutions containing arbitrary functions (at least for certain values of the coupling constants). These and other properties (such as the pp-waves subclass and the overlap with VSI, CSI and universal spacetimes) are subsequently analyzed in more d…
We study exact vacuum solutions to quadratic gravity (QG) of the Weyl types N and III. We show that in an arbitrary dimension all Einstein spacetimes of the Weyl type N with an appropriately chosen effective cosmological constant $Λ$ are exact solutions to QG and we refer to explicitly known metrics within this class. For type III Einstein spacetimes, an additional constraint follows from the field equations of QG and examples of spacetimes obeying such constraint are given. However, type III pp-waves do not satisfy this constraint and thus do not solve QG. For type N, we also study a wider cl…
The Sachs equations governing the evolution of the optical matrix of geodetic WANDs (Weyl aligned null directions) are explicitly solved in n-dimensions in several cases which are of interest in potential applications. This is then used to study Einstein spacetimes of type III and N in the higher dimensional Newman-Penrose formalism, considering both Kundt and expanding (possibly twisting) solutions. In particular, the general dependence of the metric and of the Weyl tensor on an affine parameter r is obtained in a closed form. This allows us to characterize the peeling behaviour of the Weyl "…
In this paper we systematically construct simply transitive homogeneous spacetime solutions of the three-dimensional Minimal Massive Gravity (MMG) model. In addition to those that have analogs in Topologically Massive Gravity, such as warped AdS and pp-waves, there are several solutions genuine to MMG. Among them, there is a stationary Lifshitz metric with the dynamical exponent z=-1 and an anisotropic Lifshitz solution where all coordinates scale differently. Moreover, we identify a homogeneous Kundt type solution at the chiral point of the theory. We also show that in a particular limit of t…
We present weighted covariant derivatives and wave operators for perturbations of certain algebraically special Einstein spacetimes in arbitrary dimensions, under which the Teukolsky and related equations become weighted wave equations. We show that the higher dimensional generalization of the principal null directions are weighted conformal Killing vectors with respect to the modified covariant derivative. We also introduce a modified Laplace-de Rham-like operator acting on tensor-valued differential forms, and show that the wave-like equations are, at the linear level, appropriate projection…
We explore connections between geometrical properties of null congruences and the algebraic structure of the Weyl tensor in n>4 spacetime dimensions. First, we present the full set of Ricci identities on a suitable "null" frame, thus completing the extension of the Newman-Penrose formalism to higher dimensions. Then we specialize to geodetic null congruences and study specific consequences of the Sachs equations. These imply, for example, that Kundt spacetimes are of type II or more special (like for n=4) and that for odd n a twisting geodetic WAND must also be shearing (in contrast to the cas…
We prove a Goldberg-Sachs theorem in dimension three. To be precise, given a three-dimensional Lorentzian manifold satisfying the topological massive gravity equations, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions on the tracefree Ricci tensor for the existence of a null line distribution whose orthogonal complement is integrable and totally geodetic. This includes, in particular, Kundt spacetimes that are solutions of the topological massive gravity equations.
We study exact solutions of the infinite derivative gravity with null radiation which belong to the class of almost universal Weyl type III/N Kundt spacetimes. This class is defined by the property that all rank-2 tensors ${B_{ab}}$ constructed from the Riemann tensor and its covariant derivatives have traceless part of type N of the form $\mathcal{B}(\square)S_{ab}$ and the trace part constantly proportional to the metric. Here, $\mathcal{B}(\square)$ is an analytic operator and $S_{ab}$ is the traceless Ricci tensor. We show that the convoluted field equations reduce to a single non-local bu…
We show that all algebraic Type-O, Type-N and Type-D and some Kundt-Type solutions of Topologically Massive Gravity are inherited by its holographically well-defined deformation, that is the recently found Minimal Massive Gravity. This construction provides a large class of constant scalar curvature solutions to the theory. We also study the consistency of the field equations both in the source-free and matter-coupled cases. Since the field equations of MMG do not come from a Lagrangian that depends on the metric and its derivatives only, it lacks the Bianchi identity valid for all non-singula…
The Unruh effect for the rate of emission and absorption of neutral massive Majorana spinor particles -- the most plausible consituents of Dark Matter -- in a Rindler spacetime is thoroughly investigated. The corresponding Bogolyubov coefficients are explicitly calculated and the consistency with Fermi-Dirac statistics and the Pauli principle is actually verified.
Closed forms are derived for the effective actions for free, massive spinless fields in anti-de Sitter spacetimes in arbitrary dimensions. The results have simple expressions in terms of elementary functions (for odd dimensions) or multiple Gamma functions (for even dimensions). We use these to argue against the quantum validity of a recently-proposed duality relating such theories with differing masses and cosmological constants.
We study the generalized massive gravity in three dimensional flat spacetime. A massive logarithmic mode is propagating in the flat spacetime at the critical point where two masses degenerate. Furthermore, we discuss the logarithmic extension of the Galilean conformal algebra (GCA) which may arise from the exotic and standard rank-2 logarithmic conformal field theory (LCFT) on the boundary of AdS3 spacetime.
We present the consistent theory of a free massive spin-2 field with 5 degrees of freedom propagating in spacetimes with an arbitrary geometry. We obtain this theory via linearizing the equations of the ghost-free massive gravity expressed in the tetrad formalism. The theory is parameterized by a non-symmetric rank-2 tensor whose 16 components fulfill 11 constraints implied by the equations. When restricted to Einstein spaces, the theory reproduces the standard description of massive gravitons. In generic spacetimes, the theory does not show the massless limit and always propagates five degree…
We provide a systematic and comprehensive derivation of the linearized dynamics of massive and partially massless spin-2 particles in a Schwarzschild (anti) de Sitter black hole background, in four and higher spacetime dimensions. In particular, we show how to obtain the quadratic actions for the propagating modes and recast the resulting equations of motion in a Schrödinger-like form. In the case of partially massless fields in Schwarzschild de Sitter spacetime, we study the isospectrality between modes of different parity. In particular, we prove isospectrality analytically for modes with mu…
In the spacetime of a $d$-dimensional static tense brane black hole we elaborate the mechanism by which massive scalar fields decay. The metric of a six-dimensional black hole pierced by a topological defect is especially interesting. It corresponds to a black hole residing on a tensional 3-brane embedded in a six-dimensional spacetime, and this solution has gained importance due to the planned accelerator experiments. It happened that the intermediate asymptotic behaviour of the fields in question was determined by an oscillatory inverse power-law. We confirm our investigations by numerical c…
We present two different versions of the consistent theory of massive gravitons in arbitrary spacetimes which are simple enough for practical applications. The theory is described by a non-symmetric rank-2 tensor whose equations of motion imply six algebraic and five differential constraints reducing the number of independent components to five. The theory reproduces the standard description of massive gravitons in Einstein spaces. In generic spacetimes it does not show the massless limit and always propagates five degrees of freedom, even for the vanishing mass parameter. We illustrate these …
In this paper, we study the collapsing scenario for the k-essence emergent Vaidya spacetime in the context of massive gravity's rainbow. For this study, we consider that the background metric is Vaidya spacetime in massive gravity's rainbow. We show that the k-essence emergent gravity metric resembles closely to the new type of generalized Vaidya massive gravity metric with the rainbow deformations for null fluid collapse where we consider the k-essence scalar field as a function solely of the advanced or the retarded time. The k-essence emergent Vaidya massive gravity rainbow mass function is…
We study algebraic type N spacetimes in the extended new massive gravity (NMG), considering both the Born-Infeld model (BI-NMG) and the model of NMG with any finite order curvature corrections. We show that for these spacetimes, the field equations of BI-NMG take the form of the massive (tensorial) Klein-Gordon type equation, just as it happens for ordinary NMG. This fact enables us to obtain the type N solution to BI-NMG, utilizing the general type N solution of NMG, earlier found in our work. We also obtain type N solutions to NMG with all finite order curvature corrections and show that, in…
The superradiant instability modes of ultralight massive vector bosons are studied for weakly charged rotating black holes in Einstein--Maxwell gravity (the Kerr--Newman solution) and low-energy heterotic string theory (the Kerr--Sen black hole). We show that in both these cases, the corresponding massive vector (Proca) equations can be fully separated, exploiting the hidden symmetry present in these spacetimes. The resultant ordinary differential equations are solved numerically to find the most unstable modes of the Proca field in the two backgrounds and compared to the vacuum (Kerr black ho…
In a four-dimensional spacetime, the DeWitt-Schwinger expansion of the effective action associated with a massive quantum field reduces, after renormalization and in the large mass limit, to a single term constructed from the purely geometrical Gilkey-DeWitt coefficient $a_3$ and its metric variation provides a good analytical approximation for the renormalized stress-energy tensor of the quantum field. Here, from the general expression of this tensor, we obtain analytically the renormalized stress-energy tensors of the massive scalar field, the massive Dirac field and the Proca field in Kerr-…
We derive the field equations for topologically massive gravity coupled with the most general quadratic curvature terms using the language of exterior differential forms and a first order constrained variational principle. We find variational field equations both in the presence and absence of torsion. We then show that spaces of constant negative curvature (i.e. the anti de-Sitter space $AdS_3$) and constant torsion provide exact solutions.
Flat Space Cosmology (FSC) spacetimes are exact solutions of 3D gravity theories. In this work, we study phase transition between FSC spacetimes and Hot Flat Spacetimes (HFS) in general minimal massive gravity and exotic general massive gravity. We show that similar to topological massive gravity the tunneling occurs between two spacetimes by comparing their free energies. We also obtain the corrections to the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy, and its effect on the phase transition is studied.
We find the propagator and calculate the tree level scattering amplitude between two covariantly conserved sources in an Anti-de Sitter background for the most general D-dimensional quadratic, four-derivative, gravity with a Pauli-Fierz mass. We also calculate the Newtonian potential for various limits of the theory in flat space. We show how the recently introduced three dimensional New Massive Gravity is uniquely singled out among higher derivative models as a (tree level) unitary model and that its Newtonian limit is equivalent to that of the usual massive gravity in flat space.
We examine long-wavelength correlation functions of massive scalar fields in de Sitter spacetime. For the theory with a quartic self-interaction, the two-point function is calculated up to two loops. Comparing our results with the Hartree-Fock approximation and with the stochastic approach shows that the former resums only the cactus type diagrams, whereas the latter contains the sunset diagram as well and produces the correct result. We also demonstrate that the long-wavelength expectation value of the commutator of two fields is equal to zero both for spacelike and timelike separated points.
We examine a quantised massive scalar field in $(1+1)$-dimensional spatially compact cosmological spacetimes in which the early time and late time expansion laws provide distinguished definitions of Fock "in" and "out" vacua, with the possible exception of the spatially constant sector, which may become effectively massless at early or late times. We show, generalising the work of Ford and Pathinayake, that when such a massive zero mode occurs, the freedom in the respective "in" and "out" states is a family with two real parameters. As an application, we consider massive untwisted and twisted …
We show explicitly that there is particle creation in a static spacetime. This is done by studying the field in a coordinate system based on a physical principle which has recently been proposed. There the field is quantized by decomposing it into positive and negative frequency modes on a particular spacelike surface. This decomposition depends explicitly on the surface where the decomposition is performed, so that an observer who travels from one surface to another will observe particle production due to the different vacuum state.
We analysis the radial equations for massive Dirac fields in Schwarzschild black hole spacetimes. Different approximation formulae under the WKB scheme are developed for the transmission probability ${\cal T}$ of the radial wavefunction with $E^{2}\gg V_{m}$, $E^{2}\approx V_{m}$, and $E^{2}\ll V_{m}$, where $E$ is the energy of the field and $V_{m}$ is the maximum value of the effective potential. Explicit results of ${\cal T}$ in these approximations are given for various values of $E$, the mass $m$, and the angular momentum parameter $κ$ of the fields. We also discuss the dependence of ${\c…
