Bonn 2010 – scientific programme

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SYBH: Symposium Black Holes

SYBH 1: Symposium Black Holes (SYBH)

SYBH 1.2: Invited Talk

Monday, March 15, 2010, 13:50–14:25, HG Aula

Black Holes in Four and Higher Dimensions — •Jutta Kunz — Department of Physics, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, D 26111 Oldenburg

Black holes are a major prediction of Einstein's general relativity. Today there is strong observational evidence for the existence of astrophysical black holes. On the other hand string theory, a major candidate for the quantum theory of gravity and the unification of all interactions, predicts in its low energy limit additional fields and also requires higher dimensions for mathematical consistency. As a result, essential properties of black holes can change dramatically. Here we address the questions as to what the consequences for the properties of black holes are and how they are affected by the presence of extra dimensions.

Black holes in 4-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory have a number of important special properties: They are subject to the topological censorship theorem, stating that their horizons have the topology of a sphere; they satisfy a uniqueness theorem, stating they are uniquely characterized by their mass, their angular momentum, their electric charge, and their magnetic charge; they also obey the staticity theorem, stating that stationary black holes with static horizons must be static.

In recent years it has been realized that higher dimensions allow for more general types of black holes. In particular, black objects with different types of horizon topologies are present in higher dimensions, such as black rings, concentric black rings or black saturns. While these black objects are asymptotically flat, there are also black objects with compact dimensions such as locaized black holes, black strings and black branes. Here the properties of these various types of black objects will be discussed.