The classical double copy idea relates some solutions of Einstein's theory with those of gauge and scalar field theories. We study the Kerr-Schild-Kundt (KSK) class of metrics in $d$-dimensions in the context of possible new examples of this idea. We first show that it is possible to solve the Einstein-Yang-Mills system exactly using the solutions of a Klein-Gordon type scalar equation when the metric is the $pp$-wave metric which is the simplest member of the KSK class. In the more general KSK class, the solutions of a scalar equation also solve the Yang-Mills, Maxwell and Einstein-Yang-Mills-Maxwell equations exactly albeit with a null fluid source. Hence in the general KSK class, the double copy correspondence is not as clean-cut as in the case of the $pp$-wave. In our treatment all the gauge fields couple to dynamical gravity, and are not treated as test fields. We also briefly study Gödel type metrics along the same lines.
We study Kerr-Schild-Kundt class of metrics in generic gravity theories with Maxwell's field. We prove that these metrics linearize and simplify the field equations of generic gravity theories with Maxwell's field.
We define (non-Einsteinian) universal metrics as the metrics that solve the source-free covariant field equations of generic gravity theories. Here, extending the rather scarce family of universal metrics known in the literature, we show that the Kerr-Schild--Kundt class of metrics are universal. Besides being interesting on their own, these metrics can provide consistent backgrounds for quantum field theory at extremely high energies.
The Kerr-Schild-Kundt (KSK) metrics are known to be one of the universal metrics in general relativity, which means that they solve the vacuum field equations of any gravity theory constructed from the curvature tensor and its higher-order covariant derivatives. There is yet no complete proof that these metrics are universal in the presence of matter fields such as electromagnetic and/or scalar fields. In order to get some insight into what happens when we extend the "universality theorem" to the case in which the electromagnetic field is present, as a first step, we study the KSK class of met…
We study extended Kerr-Schild (xKS) spacetimes, i.e. an extension of the Kerr-Schild (KS) ansatz where, in addition to the null KS vector, a spacelike vector field appears in the metric. In contrast to the KS case, we obtain only a necessary condition under which the KS vector is geodetic. However, it is shown that this condition becomes sufficient if we appropriately restrict the geometry of the null KS and spacelike vector. It turns out that xKS spacetimes with a geodetic KS vector are of Weyl type I and the KS vector has the same optical properties in the full and background spacetimes. In …
We construct the classical double copy formalism for M-theory. This extends the current state of the art by including the three form potential of eleven dimensional supergravity along with the metric. The key for this extension is to construct a Kerr-Schild type Ansatz for exceptional field theory. This Kerr-Schild Ansatz then allows us to find the solutions of charged objects such as the membrane from a set of single copy fields. The exceptional field theory formalism then automatically produces the IIB Kerr-Schild ansatz allowing the construction of the single copy for the fields of IIB supe…
The double copy is a much-studied relationship between scattering amplitudes in gauge and gravity theories, that has subsequently been extended to classical field solutions. In nearly all previous examples, the graviton field is defined around Minkowski space. Recently, it has been suggested that one may set up a double copy for gravitons defined around a non-trivial background. We investigate this idea from the point of view of the classical double copy. First, we use Kerr-Schild spacetimes to construct graviton solutions in curved space, as double copies of gauge fields on non-zero gauge bac…
We discuss the physical interpretation of stress-energy tensors that source static spherically symmetric Kerr-Schild metrics. We find that the sources of such metrics with no curvature singularities or horizons do not simultaneously satisfy the weak and strong energy conditions. Sensible stress-energy tensors usually satisfy both of them. Under most circumstances these sources are not perfect fluids and contain shear stresses. We show that for these systems the classical double copy associates the electric charge density to the Komar energy density. In addition, we demonstrate that the stress-…
While the Kerr-Schild double copy of the Coulomb solution in dimensions higher than three is the Schwarzschild black hole, it is known that it should be a non-vacuum solution in three dimensions. We show that the static black hole solution of Einstein-Maxwell theory (with one ghost sign in the action) is the double copy with the correct Newtonian limit, which provides an improvement over the previous construction with a free scalar field that does not vanish at infinity. By considering a negative cosmological constant, we also study the charged Bañados-Teitelboim-Zanelli black hole and find th…
The Kerr-Schild (KS) formalism is a powerful tool for constructing exact solutions in general relativity. In this paper, we present a generalization of the conventional KS formalism to double field theory (DFT) and supergravities. We introduce a generalized KS ansatz for the generalized metric in terms of a pair of null vectors. Applying this ansatz to the equations of motion of DFT, we construct the generalized KS field equation. While the generalized KS equations are quadratic in the fields, we show that it is possible to find solutions by considering linear equations only. Furthermore, we c…
We discuss the generalization of the Kerr-Schild (KS) formalism for general relativity and double field theory (DFT) to the heterotic DFT and supergravity. We first introduce a heterotic KS ansatz by introducing a pair of null O(d,d+G) generalized tangent vectors. The pair of null vectors are represented by a pair of d-dimensional vector fields, and one of the vector fields is not a null vector. This implies that the null property of the usual KS formalism, which plays a crucial role in linearizing the field equations, can be partially relaxed in a consistent way. We show that the equations of…
The double copy of the Coulomb solution in three dimensions is a non-vacuum solution that can be obtained through different matter couplings. It is the static black hole solution of Einstein-Maxwell theory or general relativity minimally coupled to a free scalar field (with one ghost sign in the action in both cases). We consider generalizations of these matter couplings by paying particular attention to the regularity of the static black solution on the gravity side and the corresponding single copy electric field in the gauge theory. We show that i) Einstein-Born-Infeld theory yields a singu…
The Kerr-Schild double copy is a map between exact solutions of general relativity and Maxwell's theory, where the nonlinear nature of general relativity is circumvented by considering solutions in the Kerr-Schild form. In this paper, we give a general formulation, where no simplifying assumption about the background metric is made, and show that the gauge theory source is affected by a curvature term that characterizes the deviation of the background spacetime from a constant curvature spacetime. We demonstrate this effect explicitly by studying gravitational solutions with non-zero cosmologi…
Kerr-Schild solutions in Multigravity and the Classical Double Copy
Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional（国立理工学院高级研究与创新中心）；Departamento de Física, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional（国立理工学院高级研究与创新中心物理系）
We investigate general properties of Kerr-Schild (KS) metrics in n>4 spacetime dimensions. First, we show that the Weyl tensor is of type II or more special if the null KS vector k is geodetic (or, equivalently, if T_{ab}k^ak^b=0). We subsequently specialize to vacuum KS solutions, which naturally split into two families of non-expanding and expanding metrics. After demonstrating that non-expanding solutions are equivalent to the known class of vacuum Kundt solutions of type N, we analyze expanding solutions in detail. We show that they can only be of the type II or D, and we characterize opti…
The Penrose Transform and the Kerr-Schild double copy
SISSA（国际高等研究学院）；INFN Sezione di Trieste（意大利国家核物理研究所的里雅斯特分部）；IFPU - Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe（宇宙基础物理研究所）；Imperial College London（伦敦帝国理工学院）；Los Alamos National Laboratory（洛斯阿拉莫斯国家实验室）；Brown University（布朗大学）
The classical double copy relates solutions to the equations of motion in gauge theory and in gravity. In this paper, we present two double-copy formalisms for relating the Coulomb solution in gauge theory to the two-parameter Janis-Newman-Winicour solution in gravity. The latter is a static, spherically symmetric, asymptotically flat solution that generically includes a dilaton field, but also admits the Schwarzschild solution as a special case. We first present the classical double copy as a perturbative construction, similar to its formulation for scattering amplitudes, and then present it …
It is a known fact that the Kerr-Schild type solutions in general relativity satisfy both exact and linearized Einstein field equations. We show that this property remains valid also for a special class of the Kerr-Schild metrics in arbitrary dimensions in generic quadratic curvature theory. In addition to the AdS-wave (or Siklos) metric which represents plane waves in an AdS background, we present here a new exact solution, in this class, to the quadratic gravity in D-dimensions which represents a spherical wave in an AdS background. The solution is a special case of the Kundt metrics belongi…
We extend the Kerr-Schild double copy to the case of a probe particle moving in the Kerr-Schild background. In particular, we solve Wong's equations for a test color charge in a Coulomb non-Abelian potential ($\sqrt{\text{Schw}}$) and on the equatorial plane for the potential generated by a rotating disk of charge known as the single copy of the $\text{Kerr}$ background ($\sqrt{\text{Kerr}}$). The orbits, as the corresponding geodesics on the gravity side, feature elliptic, circular, hyperbolic and plunge behaviour for the charged particle. We then find a new double copy map between the conser…
The Kerr-Schild form provides a natural way of realizing the classical double copy that relates exact solutions in general relativity to exact solutions in gauge theory. In this paper, we examine the asymptotic structure of Kerr-Schild form. In Newman-Unti gauge, we find a generic solution space satisfying the Kerr-Schild form in series expansion around null infinity. The news function in the solution space is chiral and can not lead to a mass loss formula. A class of asymptotically flat complex pp-wave solutions in closed form is obtained from the solution space.
The double copy is a much-studied relationship between gauge theory and gravity amplitudes. Recently, this was generalised to an infinite family of classical solutions to Einstein's equations, namely stationary Kerr-Schild geometries. In this paper, we extend this to the Taub-NUT solution in gravity, which has a double Kerr-Schild form. The single copy of this solution is a dyon, whose electric and magnetic charges are related to the mass and NUT charge in the gravity theory. Finally, we find hints that the classical double copy extends to curved background geometries.
Recently, a perturbative duality between gauge and gravity theories (the double copy) has been discovered, that is believed to hold to all loop orders. In this paper, we examine the relationship between classical solutions of non-Abelian gauge theory and gravity. We propose a general class of gauge theory solutions that double copy to gravity, namely those involving stationary Kerr-Schild metrics. The Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes (plus their higher-dimensional equivalents) emerge as special cases. We also discuss plane wave solutions. Furthermore, a recently examined double copy between …
The Weyl double copy relates vacuum solutions in general relativity to Abelian gauge fields in Minkowski spacetime. In a previous work, we showed how the Weyl double copy can be extended to provide a treatment of external gravitational sources consistent with the classical Kerr-Schild double copy. Using this generalization, here we provide a complete double copy analysis of electrovacuum Petrov type D spacetimes. This includes the first analysis of the charged C-metric, whose single copy interpretation invokes the two-potential formalism of electrodynamics. We also present the first double cop…
The classical double copy procedure relates classical asymptotically-flat gravitational field solutions to Yang-Mills and scalar field solutions living in Minkowski space. In this paper we extend this correspondence to maximally symmetric curved spacetimes. We consider asymptotically (A)dS spacetimes in Kerr-Schild form and construct the corresponding single and zeroth copies. In order to clarify the interpretation of these copies, we study several examples including (A)dS-Schwarzschild, (A)dS-Kerr, black strings, black branes, and waves, paying particular attention to the source terms. We fin…
Advances in our understanding of perturbation theory suggest the existence of a correspondence between classical general relativity and Yang-Mills theory. A concrete example of this correspondence, which is known as the double copy, was recently introduced for the case of stationary Kerr-Schild spacetimes. Building on this foundation, we examine the simple time-dependent case of an accelerating, radiating point source. The gravitational solution, which generalises the Schwarzschild solution, includes a non-trivial stress-energy tensor. This stress-energy tensor corresponds to a gauge theoretic…
The double copy relates scattering amplitudes in gauge and gravity theories, and has also been extended to classical solutions. In this paper, we study solutions in three spacetime dimensions, where the double copy may be expected to be problematic due to the absence of propagating degrees of freedom for the graviton, and the lack of a Newtonian limit. In particular, we examine the double copy of a gauge theory point charge. This is a vacuum solution in gauge theory, but leads to a non-vacuum solution in gravity, which we show is consistent with previously derived constraints. Furthermore, we …
We study the classical double copy for ungauged half-maximal supergravities using the Kaluza-Klein reduction of double field theory (DFT). We construct a general formula for the Kaluza-Klein (KK) reduction of the DFT Kerr-Schild ansatz. The KK reduction of the ansatz is highly nonlinear, but the associated equations of motion are linear. This linear structure implies that half-maximal supergravities admit a classical double copy. We show that their single copy is given by a pair of Maxwell-scalar theories, which are the KK reduction of a higher-dimensional single copy of DFT. We also investiga…
The three-point amplitude is the key building block in the on-shell approach to scattering amplitudes. We show that the classical objects computed by massive three-point amplitudes in gauge theory and gravity are Newman-Penrose scalars in a split-signature spacetime, where three-point amplitudes can be defined for real kinematics. In fact, the quantum state set up by the particle is a coherent state fully determined by the three-point amplitude due to an eikonal-type exponentiation. Having identified this simplest classical solution from the perspective of scattering amplitudes, we explore the…
The Kerr-Schild double copy relates exact solutions of gauge and gravity theories. In all previous examples, the gravity solution is associated with an abelian-like gauge theory object, which linearises the Yang-Mills equations. This appears to be at odds with the double copy for scattering amplitudes, in which the non-abelian nature of the gauge theory plays a crucial role. Furthermore, it is not yet clear whether or not global properties of classical fields - such as non-trivial topology - can be matched between gauge and gravity theories. In this paper, we clarify these issues by explicitly…
Mani L. Bhaumik Institute for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California at Los Angeles（加州大学洛杉矶分校物理与天文学系马尼·L·布豪米克理论物理研究所）；Centre for Research in String Theory, School of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London（伦敦玛丽女王大学物理与天文学院弦理论研究中心）；Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Edinburgh（爱丁堡大学物理与天文学院希格斯理论物理中心）
