Tidally induced multipole moments of a nonrotating black hole vanish to all post-Newtonian orders

TL;DR

This paper proves that nonrotating black holes have no tidally induced multipole moments at any post-Newtonian order, supporting the idea that their Love numbers vanish, through a perturbative Einstein-Maxwell analysis involving charged particles.

Contribution

It demonstrates that all static, tidally induced mass multipole moments of a nonrotating black hole vanish to all post-Newtonian orders, extending previous understanding of black hole Love numbers.

Findings

Black hole multipole moments vanish to all post-Newtonian orders.

The proof uses a perturbative Einstein-Maxwell solution with a charged particle.

Vanishing moments are robust and apply to all slowly-varying tidal environments.

Abstract

The tidal Love numbers of a black hole vanish, and this is often taken to imply that the hole's tidally induced multipole moments vanish also. An obstacle to establishing a link between these statements is that the multipole moments of individual bodies are not defined in general relativity, when the bodies are subjected to a mutual gravitational interaction. In a previous publication [Phys. Rev. D 103, 064023 (2021)] I promoted the view that individual multipole moments can be defined when the mutual interaction is sufficiently weak to be described by a post-Newtonian expansion. In this view, a compact body is perceived far away as a skeletonized post-Newtonian object with a multipole structure, and the multipole moments can then be related to the body's Love numbers. I expand on this view, and demonstrate that all static, tidally induced, mass multipole moments of a nonrotating black hole vanish to all post-Newtonian orders. The proof rests on a perturbative solution to the Einstein-Maxwell equations that describes an electrically charged particle placed in the presence of a charged black hole. The gravitational attraction between particle and black hole is balanced by electrostatic repulsion, and the system is in an equilibrium state. The particle provides a tidal environment to the black hole, and the multipole moments vanish for this environment. I argue that the vanishing is robust, and applies to all slowly-varying tidal environments. The black hole's charge can be as small as desired (though not identically zero); by continuity, the multipole moments of an electrically neutral black hole will continue to vanish.