Extreme horizon equation

TL;DR

This paper advances the understanding of extremal horizons by deriving a master identity for the Einstein horizon equation, classifying static solutions, and proving symmetry and rigidity results for various horizon geometries.

Contribution

It introduces a new master identity for the EEH equation, completes the classification of static solutions, and proves symmetry and rigidity theorems for extremal horizons with various topologies.

Findings

Derived the master identity for EEH solutions.

Classified all static solutions with non-positive cosmological constant.

Proved axial symmetry for static solutions on zero genus surfaces.

Abstract

Extremal horizons satisfy an equation induced by the Einstein vacuum equations that determines the shape of the horizon and the manner in which it rotates (the EEH equation). Until recently, however, the classification of solutions required the assumption of axial symmetry. Recently, there has been a breakthrough: Dunajski and Lucietti proved that every non-static solution possesses a one-dimensional symmetry group. The first part of our work is inspired by this result. An identity satisfied by the solutions of the EEH equation has been distilled (Master Identity), which is crucial for studying their properties. It is a bit stronger than the original Dunajski-Lucietti identity and leads directly to the rigidity theorem for any value of the cosmological constant. Master Identity is used for a simple derivation of the local form of the general static solution of the EEH equation with non-positive cosmological constant. All the globally defined compact static solutions are derived. Thus the list of solutions given in the literature is completed. In the two-dimensional case (which corresponds to horizons in four-dimensional spacetime), the Einstein-Maxwell equations of an extremal horizon (EMEH) and the equations of quasi-Einstein spaces are studied. The general solution on a compact surface with non-zero genus is derived. In the case of zero genus, the static solutions are investigated and their axial symmetry is proven. Together with the new results on non-static solutions on sphere of Colling, Katona and Lucietti that leads to the uniqueness of the Reissner-Nordstr\"om-(Anti)de-Sitter extremal horizons. Interestingly, the static rigidity result is also valid for non-compact spaces with a zero first cohomology group.