Separation of variables and symmetry operators for the neutrino and Dirac equations in

the spacetimes admitting a twoparameter abelian orthogonally transitive isometry

group and a pair of shearfree geodesic null congruences
N. Kamran and R. G. McLenaghan

Citation: Journal of Mathematical Physics 25, 1019 (1984); doi: 10.1063/1.526269
View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.526269
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Separation of variables and symmetry operators for the neutrino and Dirac
equations in the space-times admitting a two-parameter abelian orthogonally
transitive isometry group and a pair of shearfree geodesic null
congruences
8
)
N. Kamran and R. G. McLenaghan
Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3Gl
(Received 28 June 1983; accepted for publication 7 October 1983)
We show that there exist a coordinate system and null tetrad for the space-times admitting a two-
parameter abelian orthogonally transitive isometry group and a pair of shearfree geodesic null
congruences.in which the neutrino equation is solvable by separation of variables ifand only if the
Weyl tensor IS Petrov type D. The massive Dirac equation is separable if in addition the conformal
a functional equation. As a corollary, we deduce that the neutrino equation
IS separable In a canomcal system of coordinates and tetrad for the solution of Einstein's type D
vacuum or electrovac field equations with cosmological constant admitting a nonsingular aligned
field and that the Dirac equation is separable only in the subclass of Carter's [A]
solutIOns and. the Debever-McLenaghan null orbit solutionA
o
. We also compute the symmetry
operators WhICh arise from the above separability properties.
PACS numbers: 04.20.Jb, 03.65.Ge, 02.20.Km
1. INTRODUCTION
Central to the analytic solution of the relativistic hydro-
gen atom problem 1.2 stands the fact that in Minkowski
space-time, the Dirac equation for a central potential is solv-
able by separation of variables in spherical coordinates, the
symmetry operator
3
which underlies this separability prop-
erty being the total angular momentum operator well known
to Dirac himself.
4
In curved space-time, although the separability proper-
ties of scalar equations such as the Hamilton-Jacobi and
Klein-Gordon equations have been studied in detail by
Carte..s in the physically important situation of a charged
rotating black hole described by the Kerr-Newman solu-
tion, it is only in the last decade that significant progress has
been achieved in understanding the separability of higher
spin wave equations. In particular, the separability of the
Weyl neutrino equation (spin one-halt), Maxwell's equations
(spin one), and the perturbed Einstein gravitational field
equations (spin two) has been established in the Kerr back-
ground by Teukolsky6 and, using an analogous method, in
the seven-parameter Plebafiski-Demiafiski background by
Dudley and Finley.7 All attempts to extend Teukolsky's se-
paration method, where previously decoupled single-com-
ponent equations are separated, to the Dirac equation for a
massive charged spin one-half particle were unsuccessful un-
til Chandrasekhar
8
ingeniously performed separation prior
to decoupling, establishing the separability of the Dirac
equation in the Kerr background. Chandrasekhar's result,
which was immediately extended to the Kerr-Newman
background by Page
9
and ToopiO and to the Kinnersley case
II vacuum solutions by Guven, II was subsequently analyzed
by Carter and McLenaghan
I2

13
who constructed an opera-
tor commuting with the Dirac operator in the Kerr-New-
"This work was supported in part by a grant from the National Sciences
and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
man background, admitting the separated solutions as eigen-
functions with the separation constant as eigenvalue, which
is the symmetry operator associated to this separability, gen-
eralizing the total angular momentum operator existing in
flat space-time. The symmetry operators for the Dirac oper-
ator on an aribtrary curved background were given a tensor-
ial interpretation by Carter and McLenaghan 14 and a tensor-
ial characterization by McLenaghan and Spindel. 15 The
symmetry operators for the neutrino operator have recently
been characterized tensorially by Kamran and McLen-
aghan.
16
The purpose of this paper is to perform a systematic
study of the separability properties of the neutrino and mas-
sive charged Dirac equations and an explicit computation of
the associated symmetry operators in the class of Lorentzian
spaces characterized by the existence of a two-dimensional
abelian group of local isometries acting orthogonally transi-
tively and the existence of two geodesic and shearfree real
null congruences. The motivation behind this choice of
background lies in a theorem of Debever, Kamran, and
McLenaghan 17. 18 which gives a canonical form for the met-
ric and Maxwell field for the class :D of solutions of Einstein's
vacuum and electrovac field equations with cosmological
constant, for Petrov type D, with a nonsingular aligned
Maxwell field. This canonical form, in which the Einstein-
Maxwell equations have been integrated and a single expres-
sion for the general solution has been given, 19 is the starting
point of our study, our aim being to impose only those condi-
tions that are required for separability rather than work in
the explicit form of the integrated solutions. Section 2 is de-
voted to the explicit statement of our hypotheses and results.
Sections 3, 4, 5, and 6 contain the proofs of our theorems.
2. HYPOTHESIS AND STATEMENT OF RESULTS
Weare investigating the separability properties of the
neutrino equation
1019 J. Math. Phys. 25 (4), April 1984 0022-2488/84/041019-09$02.50 @ 1984 American Institute of PhYSics 1019
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HN: = iY'V
k
= 0,
and the Dirac equation
(2.Ia)
H
D
: = [iY'(V
k
- ieA
k
) - V ~ J ] = 0, (2.Ib)
where! Yk J is a set of Dirac matrices associated to a Lorent-
zian metricgij'V k denotes the covariant differentiation oper-
ator
20
on four-spinors corresponding to the choice of Y' 's
and to the Levi-Civita connection of gij' and where
A = Ak dxkis a I-form field, in the class of Lorentzian spaces
admitting a metric of the form
ds
2
= 2(8 18
2
- 8
3
(
4
), (2.2a)
where
8 1= (vLT(w,X))-IIZ(w,x)II/2[JW(W)Z(W,X)-1
X (tldu + m(x)dv) +g-2W(W)-ldw], (2.2b)
8
2
= (vLT(w,X))-IIZ(w,x)II/2[ W(w)Z(W,X)-1
X(tldu + m(x)dv) - /g-2W(W)-ldw], (2.2c)
8
3
= (vLT(w,X))-IIZ(w,x)II/2[X(X)Z(W,X)-1
X (t
2
du + p(w)dv) + lX(X)-ldx], (2.2d)
8
4
= 7P, (2.2e)
with
Ak dxk = T(w,x)(2Z(w,X))-1I2[g-2H(w)W(W)-1
XU8 1+ (
2
) + G(x)X(x)-1(8
3
+ (
4
)],(2.2f)
where
Z(w,x) = tIP(W) - t2m(x), g = ((1 + F)/2)1/2, (2.3)
and where tp t2' and/are real constants satisfying ci + ~
=I- and all functions are real valued.
The Lorentzian spaces whose metric is given by (2.2)
and (2.3) are characterized
21
by the following properties:
(i) There exists a two-dimensional abelian group oflocal
isometries acting orthogonally transitively.
(ii) There exist two geodesic and shearfree real null con-
gruences.
The motivation for the study of the separability proper-
ties of Eqs. (2.1) in the Lorentzian spaces whose metric is
given by (2.2) and (2.3) with the I-form field A = Ak dx
k
by
(2.3) lies in the following result: Let ~ denote the class of
solutions of Einstein's vacuum and electrovac field equa-
tions with cosmological constant, which may be written as
Rij - !Rgij + Agij = FikF} k - };.gijFrsF rs , (2.4a)
F
ik
; k = 0, Flij;k I = 0; Fij = 2A
lj
;i!' (2.4b)
where we permit the cosmological constant A and the elec-
tromagnetic field tensor Fij to vanish, that satisfy the follow-
ing conditions:
HI. The Weyl tensor is everywhere of Petro v type D.
H2. If the Maxwell field tensor Fij is nonzero, it is nonsingu-
lar with its principal null directions aligned with the repeat-
ed principal null directions of the Weyl tensor.
H3. The hypothesis of the generalized Goldberg-Sachs
theorem is satisfied, insuring that the null congruences asso-
ciated to the principal directions of the Weyl tensor are geo-
desic and shearfree.
1020 J. Math. Phys., Vol. 25, No.4, April 1984
Then, we have the following result, proved in Debever,
Kamran, and McLenaghan (DKM).22
Theorem 1: For every solution in ~ there exists a sys-
tem oflocal coordinates (u,v,w,x) and a null basis of I-forms
! ()" J such that the metric and self-dual Maxwell field take
the form
+
F =B(w,x)(8 11\8
2
- 8
3
1\(
4
),
(2.5a)
(2.5b)
where B is a complex valued function, with the I-forms ()"
and a real vector potential A given by (2.2) and (2.3).
The field equations (2.4) have been integrated for the
class ~ and a single expression has been given in DKM for
the general solution in the tetrad and coordinates of
Theorem 1.
We shall work in the general context of the metric and
I-form (2.2) rather than in the explicit form of the integrated
~ solutions, imposing those conditions that are necessary
and sufficient for separability and subsequently determining
those subclasses of satisfying the separability require-
ments.
The main results of this paper are given in the following
theorems:
Theorem 2: In the Lorentzian space of Theorem 1, the
neutrino equation (2.Ia) admits, in the Weyl representation,
an R- separable
23
solution of the form
(
PO) ( e
icrJ
R
I
(x)S2(W) )
,I. = !I = ei(au +f3vIT3 / 2z -1/4 e
idJ
R2(x)SI(W)
'f' QO' e-l:
1II
R
I
(x)SI(W) ,
Q I. e - i1ll R
2
(x)S2(W)
(2.6a)
where a and f3 are arbitrary real constants and where
dYJ = (4Z)-I(tlm'(x)dw + t2p'(w)dx), (2.6b)
if and only if the Petrov type D condition HI, which insures
the existence of YJ 24 as given in (2. 6b), is satisfied.
Corollary: In all space-times in the class the neutrino
equation (2.Ia) admits, in the Weyl representation, an R-
separable solution of the form (2.6a).
Special cases of our corollary have been obtained using
a different approach, where starting from the Weyl neutrino
equation in terms of two-spinors, previously decoupled sec-
ond-order equations are separated, by Teukolsky25 for the
Kerr solution and Dudley and Finley26 for the seven-param-
eter Plebanski-Demianski solutions. It should be noted that
this decoupling prior to separation procedure seems to re-
quire either the vacuum ~ equations or all but two of the
electrovac ~ equations
27
rather than the weaker conformal-
ly invariant Petrov type D equation appearing in Theorem 2.
Although Theorem 2 and its corollary deal with the separa-
bility of the neutrino equation in ~ and hence could be en-
tirely formulated in terms of a single two-spinor, we employ
a four-spinor formalism to be able to compare the above
results with the following separability theorems for the mas-
sive charged Dirac equation, which may be formulated ei-
ther in terms of four-spinors or a pair of two-spinors.
N. Kamran and R. G. McLenaghan 1020
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Theorem 3: In the Lorentzian space of Theorem 1, the
Dirac equation (2.1b) admits, in the Weyl representation, an
R-separable solution of the form given in (2.6a) and (2.6b) if
and only if:
(i) The Petrov type D condition (HI)' which insures the
existence of f!iJ as given in (2.6b), is satisfied.
(ii) There exist real valued functions h (w) and g(x) such
that
(2.7)
Theorem 3 enables us to characterize those space-times in :tI
admitting a separable Dirac equation through the following
corollary.
Corollary: Within the class :tI of space-times, the Dirac
equation (2.1b) admits, in the Weyl representation, an R-
separable solution of the form given in Eqs. (2.6a) and (2.6b)
only in Carter's [A] family of solutions and in the Ao null
orbit solution of Debever and McLenaghan.
28
Our corollary becomes an immediate consequence of
Theorem 3 once the values of Z, T, and f!iJ as given in DKM,
which contains the result of the integration of the field equa-
tion (2.2) in the canonical (u,v,w,x) class of coordinates of
Theorem 1, are substituted in Eq. (2.7). Special cases of our
corollary have been obtained for the Kerr solution by Chan-
drasekhar,29 whose approach was subsequently applied by
Page
30
and TOOp31 to show separability of the Dirac equa-
tion in the Kerr-Newman solution and Giiven
32
in the Kin-
nersley case II vacuum solutions.
There is a well-known connection between separation
of variables and constants of the motion. In the case of the
Hamilton-Jacobi equation for the massive charged particle
orbits, it has been established in DKM that Carter's [A] fam-
ily of solutions and theA
o
null orbit solution are those space-
times in :tI where one has separation. This separation ofvar-
iables gives rise to a quadratic first integral of the equations
of motion which implies the existence ofa (O,2)-Killing ten-
sor and whose Poisson bracket with the Hamiltonian vanish-
es. In the case of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation for the zero
rest mass particles (null geodesics) it has been shown by Deb-
ever and McLenaghan
33
(in the electrovac case) and Czapor
and McLenaghan
34
(in the vacuum case) that a separable
coordinate system exists for every solution in:tl. This separa-
tion of variables gives in turn rise to a function on the cotan-
gent bundle which is also quadratic in the momenta, whose
existence yields a (O,2)-conformal Killing tensor, and whose
Poisson bracket with the Hamiltonian will beproportional to
this Hamiltonian.
When studying the motion of test particles in the first-
quantized limit rather than in the classical description pro-
vided by the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, the connection
between separation of variables and constants of motion is
reflected in commutation relations rather than Poisson
bracket relations (for a general discussion of this point, see
Carter
35
). In the case of the Klein-Gordon equation for
charged (massive or massless) spin zero particles, the separa-
bility properties in the class :tl have been studied in detail in
DKM. The constants of the motion appear there as symme-
try operators admitting the separated solutions as eigenfunc-
tions with the separation constant as eigenvalue. Explicitly,
1021 J. Math. Phys., Vol. 25, No.4, April 1984
denoting by HK the massless conjormally invariant Klein-
Gordon operator, for which R-separability was established
in DKM for the entire:tl class, we have a symmetry operator
Kk defined by
KK = TUKI(UKxWKW - UKwWKx)T-I, (2.8a)
where
UKx = - E
2
mT-
2
, U
Kw
= E!pT -
2
, UK = U
Kw
+ U
Kx
'
W Kx = X
2
J; + (X2)'J
x
+ X -2[( - ma
u
+ E
1
a
V
)2
+ ieG( - ma
u
+ EIJ
v
))
(2.8b)
+ GX -2(ie( - ma
u
+ Eta
v
) - e
2
G) + i(X
2
)",
(2.8c)
W Kw =jW
2
a; + (f(W2)' - g-2(1 - j2)(pa
u
- E
2
a
v
))a
w
+ g-4W-
2
[ - j(pJ
u
- E
2
a
v
)2
- gZieH(pJ
u
- E
2
a
v
)]
- 2-
l
g-
2
(1 - j2)p'a
u
+ HW-
2
( - ieg-
2
(pJ
u
- e
2
a
v
)
+ e
2
g-'iH) + U(W
2
)".
If the wave function takes the R-separable form
(u,v,w,x) = ei(Uu HV)I(W)2(X)T(w,x),
(2.8d)
(2.8e)
the symmetry operator Kk satisfies the eigenvalue equation
(2.8t)
where A K denotes the separation constant arising from the
separation of variables, and the commutation relation
[KK,H
K
) = rKH
K
,
where
(2.8g)
rK =TU
K
1
![UKx,W
Kw
] - [UKw,WKw]JT-t,
(2.8h)
and where use has been made in the expressions of those :tI
field equations required for separability. It can be checked
that in the massive case, one obtains in the subclass of:tl
where one has separability, that is the Carter [A] and theA
o
null orbit solutions, a symmetry operator which reduces to a
commuting operator and still satisfies the eigenvalue equa-
tion (2.8t).
Central to the Poisson bracket discussion of the con-
stants of the motion for the charged particle orbits in :tI and
the commutator discussion of the constants of the motion for
the first-quantized spin zero test particles in :tl, as they arise
from the separability of the Hamilton-Jacobi and Klein-
Gordon equations, stands a lemma, first stated by Carter
36
in
the Poisson bracket case and subsequently employed by
Carter and McLenaghan
37
in the commutator case, that will
also be applied to the derivation of the symmetry operators
associated to the separability of the neutrino and Dirac equa-
tions in :tI.
Lemma: Let M and N be matrix differential operators
and P, PI' P
2
be nonsingular matrices not involving any dif-
ferentiation operators. Then
N. Kamran and A. G. McLenaghan 1021
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[P -I(M + N),P -I(PIN - P
2
M)]
=P-I[M,P-l(P1 +P
2
)]N
- P -I [N,P -l(P1 + P
2
)]M
+P-
2
(P1 +P
2
)[M,N] +P-I([N,P
I
] - [M,P
2
]
-NP-I[PI,P] -MP-
l
[P
2
,P]jP-
l
(M +N).
(2.9)
The commutation relation (2.8g) can be deduced from this
lemma by letting
P=Uk , PI=UKx ' P2 =U
Kw
' M=W
Kx
' N=W
Kw
(2.10)
in Eq. (2.9).
The separability Theorems 2 and 3 and their corollaries
give rise to matrix symmetry operators for the neutrino and
Dirac equations, which we will compute using the above
Lemma. The expressions of these symmetry operators are
given in the following theorems.
Theorem 4: In the single expression given in DKM for
the class ::3) solutions, in the tetrad and coordinates of
Theorem 1, let KN be the operator defined by
KN =SNU Ii I(U
Nx
WNw - UNwWNx)SIi I,
where
(2.lla)
SN
= T
3
/2 diag{ [b 2(ew cos r + k) - i(ex sin r + I)] -1/2,
[b 2(ew cos r + k) - i(ex sin r + I)] -1/2,
[b 2(ew cos r + k) + i(ex sin r + I)] -1/2,
[b 2(ew cos r + k) + i(ex sin r + I)] -1/2l, (2.IIb)
U
Nx
= T-li(ex sin r + I)diag(I, - 1,1, - 1), (2.llc)
U
Nw
= T-Ib 2(ew cos r + k )diag(I, - 1, - 1,1),
(2.lld)
UN = U
Nx
+ U
Nw
, (2.IIe)
a a a
LD
W
N
, (
a -L/
L-
a
x
-Lx+ a a
a a
- f.-le(ex sin r + I)
a
W -
(
a
Nw - _
a
a
a
L+
w
L+
w
a
a
a
(2.llt)
L x- = 2-
1/2
( - iXJ
x
+ X-l(E1J
v
- mJu) - i2-
I
X'),
(2.IIh)
L:; = 2-
l/2
(WJ
w
+ jg-ZW-1(pJ
u
- E
2
J
v
) + 2-
1
W'),
(2.lli)
L;:; = 2-
l/2
( - fWJ
w
+ g-2W-
l
(pJ
u
- E
2
J
v
) - 2-
l
fW').
(2.1Ij)
The operator KN has the following properties:
(i) The operator KN is a symmetry operator for the neu-
trino operator H
N
, that is
[KN,HN] = rNHN'
where
(2.12a)
r N = S N U Ii 1 { [ U Nx , WNw] - [ U Nw' W Nx Jl S Ii I.
(2.12b)
(ii) The R-separable solution (2.6) is an eigenspinor of
KN with the separation constant 4 N arising from the separa-
tion of variables as eigenvalue:
(2.13)
Now, for the Dirac equation, we have:
Theorem 5: In the expression given for the Carter [.4 ]
solutions and theA
o
null orbit solution in DKM, which uses
the tetrad and coordinates of Theorem 1, let KD be the oper-
ator defined by
KD =SDU;;I(UDxWDW - UDwWDxlS;;I,
where
SD = T-
3IZ
S
N
, U
Dx
= TU
Nx
'
U
Dw
= TUNw ' UD = UDx + UDw'
(2.14a)
(2.14b)
W
Dx
=
(
f.-le(ex r + I)
-Dx+
D-
x
a
f.-le (ex sin r + I)
a
_ (- if.-leb cos r + k)
W
Dx
- -D-
w
a
D
+ =L + -i2-
1/2
eX-
I
G
x x '
D x- = L x- - i2-
1/2
eX -IG,
D:; =L:; _i2-1/2jg-2eW-IH,
D;:; = L;:; - i2-l/2g-2eW-IH.
a
if.-leb 2(ew cos r + k)
a
D+
w
(2.14d)
(2.14e)
1022 J. Math. Phys., Vol. 25, No.4, April 1984
D+
w
a
if.-leb 2(ew cos r + k)
a
)
a '
- if.-leb 2(ew cos r + k)
The operator KD has the following properties:
(2.14c)
(i) The operator KD commutes with the Dirac operator
H
D
:
(2.15)
N. Kamran and R. G. McLenaghan 1022
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(ii) The R-separable solution (2.6) is an eigenspinor of
Ko with the separation constantA D arising from the separa-
tion of variables as eigenvalue:
(2.16)
Operators commuting with the Dirac operator have
previously been considered, the first example of which is
given in fiat space-time by the total angular momentum op-
erator 7
38
which is notably associated to the separability in
spherical coordinates of the Dirac equation for a central po-
tential and whose eigenvalues yield quantum numbers.
First-order operators which commute with the Dirac opera-
tor on a curved background were obtained in the Kerr-New-
man solution by Carter and McLenaghan,39 using the above
Lemma in their analysis of Chandrasekhar's separation of
variables procedure. A tensorial characterization of the op-
erators commuting with the Dirac operator on an arbitrary
curved background was given by Carter and McLenaghan
40
and McLenaghan and Spindel.
41
The symmetry operators
for the neutrino operator on an arbitrary curved space-time
have been characterized tensorially by Kamran and McLen-
aghan.
42
3. PROOF OF THEOREM 2
The essence of our proof lies in the analysis performed by Carter and McLenaghan
43
of Chandrasekhar's separation of
variables procedure for the Dirac equation in the Kerr space-time.
In the Newman-Penrose spin coefficient formalism, the neutrino equation (2.1a) reads,44 using the Weyl representation
for,
(
a
a
A+/-l-Y
- (8" + 1T - a)
a
a
- (0 +p'-r)
D+,-p
"8+p-r
a
a
In the tetrad and coordinates of Theorem 1, we have, letting
(J 1 = n
i
dx
j
, (J2 = Ii dx
i
, (J3 = - mj dx
j
, (J4 = - mj dx
i
,
the following:
D + E - P = T2-
1
/
2
Z -1/2[ wa
w
+ jg-2W-
1
(pa
u
- E
2
a
v
)
-lWZ-'E,( -p' + im') + !W' -
A - Y + /-l = T2-
1I2
Z -1/2[ - fWa
w
+ g-2W-
1
(pa
u
- E
2
a
v
)
+ lfWZ-'EI( -p' +im') - !fW'
o +P' - r = T2-
1
/
2
Z -1/2 [ - iXa" +X -1(Ela
v
- maul - -I
E2
(p' - im') - !iX' + T-1X],
"8 - a + 1T = T2-1/
2
Z -1/2[iXa
x
+x-1(Ela
v
- maul + lXZ -I
E2
(p' - im') + - T-IX].
We first perform the four-spinor transformation defined by
=S',
with
where
dYJ = (4Z)-I(E}m' dw + E2P' dx),
the integrability condition of which is satisfied thanks to the Petrov type D condition (Hl).45
The resulting operator acting on the transformed spinor ' is
S-'H TZ-"'( .
a
e-
2j
:5iJL .:
eU'L<-)
0
e-
2j
:5iJL x+ e - 2j:5iJ L w-
N 2.:5iJ L -
- e
2j
:5iJL,,-
a a '
e w
_ e
2j
:5iJ L /
e
2j
:5iJ L': a a
r
where the operators L ,,+ , L ,,- , L .: , and L ,;; are defined by
Eqs. (2.11). We next mUltiply the operator which acts on the
transformed spinor ' by the nonsingular separating matrix
U defined by
( 0 -I a
W
N
= US HNS=
-L';;
U = Z 1I2T -I diag(e
2j
:5iJ, _ e
2i
:5iJ, _ e - 2j:5iJ ,e - 2i:5iJ), (3.5) -Lx+
to obtain an operator W N given by
a
L+
w
a -L,,+
L-
"
a
L+
w
a
1023 J. Math. Phys., Vol. 25, No.4, April 1984 N. Kamran and R. G. McLenaghan
(3.1a)
(3.lb)
(3.2a)
(3.2b)
(3.2c)
(3.2d)
(3.3a)
(3.3b)
(3.3c)
(3.4)
L,,- )
-L,;;
a .
a
(3.6)
1023
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Now, taking into account the existence for all solutions in ::tl
of a two-parameter abelian group of local isometries,46
which manifests itself in the form given in Theorem 1 for the
met rices of the ::tl class by u and v being ignorable coordi-
nates, we may write
(
Fl(W'X))
.li(U v W x) = ei(au + f3v) F
2
(w,x)
'i" " , Gl(w,x) ,
G
2
(w,x)
(3.7)
where a and f3 are arbitrary constants.
When the form (3.7) for ' is substituted into the trans-
formed equation W N' = 0, we obtain the following system
of first-order partial differential equations:
L :: G
l
+ L x- G
2
= 0, - L :;; Fl + L x- F2 = 0, (3.8a)
L / G
l
+ L :;; G
2
= 0, - L / Fl + L :: F2 = 0, (3.8b)
where L / , L x- , L :: , and L:;; denote the operators given
in Eqs. (2.11) where the derivatives with respect to ignorable
coordinates a / au and a/au have been, respectively, replaced
by ia and if3. Following Chandrasekhar,47 we seek separable
solutions of the form
Fl(w,x) = R
l
(x)S2(W), Gl(w,x) = Rl(x)SI(W),
F
2
(w,x) = R
2
(x)Sj(w), G
2
(w,x) = R
2
(x)S2(W),
which, when substituted into the system (3.8), yield
Rl(x)i,:: SI(W) + S2(w)L x- R
2
(x) = 0,
SI(W)i, / Rl(X) + R
2
(x)i,:;; S2(W) = 0,
- R I (x)L :;; S2(W) + SI(W)i, x- R
2
(x) = 0,
- S2(W)i, x+ Rj(x) + R
2
(x)i, :: SI(W) = o.
4. PROOF OF THEOREM 3
(3.9a)
(3.9b)
(3. lOa)
(3. lOb)
(3.lOc)
(3.lOd)
These relations give then immediately
L :: SI(W) = A
l
S
2
(W), L:;; S2(W) = A
3
S
I
(W), (3.11a)
L
x
-R
2
(x) = -AlRl(x), L
x
-R
2
(x)=A
3
R
l
(x), (3.11b)
L:;; S2(W) = A
2
S
I
(W), L:: SI(W) = A
4
S
2
(W), (3.11c)
L / Rl(x) = - A
2
R
2
(x), L / Rl(X) = A
4
R
2
(x), (3.lId)
where AI> A
2
, A
3
, A4 are the separation constants, which for
consistency must satisfy
(3.12)
Equations (3.11) are thus equivalent to the system of
coupled first-order ordinary differential equations
L :: SI(W) = A
N
S
2
(W), L:;; S2(W) = - ANSl(W), (3.13a)
L
x
-R
2
(x) = -ANR1(x), L
x
+R
l
(x)=A
N
R
2
(x),(3.13b)
and the proof of Theorem 2 is complete. Note that the first-
order system (3.13) can be written as a system of decoupled
second-order ordinary differential equations which reads as
follows:
L :: L :;; S2(W) = - A ;,S2(W),
L :;; L :: Sj(w) = - A ;,Sj(w), L / L x- Rz(x) = - A ;'R
2
(x).
(3.14b)
It may be noted that one recovers as special cases of Eqs.
(3.14) TeukolskY's48 decoupled equations in the Kerr back-
ground and Dudley and FinleY's49 decoupled equations in
the Plebaiiski-Demiaiiski background when the metric
functions appearing in Theorem 1 are appropriately special-
ized.
The first steps of our proof are similar to those of Theorem 2. In the Newman-Penrose formalism. the Dirac equation
(2.1b) reads,50 using the Weyl representation for ,
- ill
e
( 0
0 D+"E-p-eAj
8H-a_ieA')C) 0
- ill
e
{} + 1J - T - ieA
4 .:i + Jl - r - ieA2 !.I = 0
(4.1)
.:i + Il - r - ieA
z
- (8 + f3 - 1') + ieA3 - ill
e
o QO' 0 '
- ({) + 1T - a) + ieA4 D+-p-ieA
l
0 - ill
e
(F 0
where Aa are the components of the vector potential I-form in the basis lea J. Having written Eq. (4.1) with the tetrad,
coordinates, and vector potential given in Eqs. (2.3), (2.4), (2.5), and (3.1b) we perform, as we did for the neutrino equation, the
four-spinor transformation defined by Eq. (3.3) and we multiply on the left the Dirac operator S -IHDS acting on the
transformed spinor ' by the separating matrix U given in (3,5) to obtain an operator W D given by
o
D+
w
liJ.e
Z
IIzT -le
2idJ
D;;
-Dx-
illeZ l/ZT -Ie - Zid!
- D:;; (4.2)
D
x
- )
. Z I / ~ T l -21d! '
D::
where the operators D x+ , D x- , D :: , and D:;; are those giv-
en in Eqs. (2.14).
A necessary condition for the separability of the trans-
formed equation W D ' = 0 is that each diagonal entry in the
expression given in Eq. (4.2) for the operator W D split into
the sum of a function of x and a function of w, in other words
1024 J. Math. Phys., Vol. 25, NO.4, April 1984
o - Ille e
i
that there exist real valued functions/(x), g(x), h (w), and k (w)
such that
ZI/ZT-
1
e
2i
&J = [f(x)+ig(x)] + [h(w)+ik(w)]. (4.3)
However, this condition is not sufficient for separability with
' given (following Chandrasekhar) by
N. Kamran and R. G. McLenaghan 1024
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@
t(X)K2(W))
t/J(U,V,W,x) = e
i1au
+ /:Iv) H
2
(x)Kt(W) .
Ht(x)Kt(w)
2(X)K2(W)
(4.4)
Indeed, substituting Eqs. (4.3) and (4.4) into W D t/J' = 0 with
W D as given by (4.2), we obtain, in the same way in which we
obtained Eqs. (3.11), the following equations:
D': Kt(w) - if-te(h (w) + ik (w))Kz(w) = f-ttK2(W), (4.Sa)
D x- Hz(x) - if-te(f(x) + ig(x))Ht(x) = - f-ttHt(x), (4.Sb)
D;;; Kz(w) - if-te(h (w) + ik (w))Kt(w) = f-t2Kt(W), (4.Sc)
D x+ Ht(x) - if-te(f(x) + ig(x))H2(X) = - f-t2Hz(x), (4.Sd)
D;;; Kz(w) - if-te(h (w) - ik (w))Kt(w) = f-t3Kt(W), (4.Se)
- D x- H
2
(x) - if-te(f(x) - ig(x))Ht(x) = - f-t3H t(X),
(4.Sf)
D': Kt(w) - if-te(h (w) - ik (w))Kz(w) = f-t4Kz(w), (4.Sg)
- D x+ Ht(x) - if-te(f(x) - ig(x))H2(X) = - f-t4H2(X),
(4.Sh)
where D x+ , D x- , D .: , and D;;; denote the operators given
in Eqs. (2.14) where the derivatives with respect to the ignor-
able coordinates a lau and a lav have been, respectively, re-
placed by ia and if3.
Subtracting Eq. (4.Sg) from Eq. (4.Sa), we obtain
k (w)=c
t
, (4.6a)
wherec
t
is a real constant and adding Eq. (4.Sh) to Eq. (4.Sd)
we obtain
(4.6b)
where C
2
is a real constant. Defining now new functions g(x)
and h (w) by
g(x) = g(x) + C
t
, h (w) = h (w) + C
z
, (4.7)
the condition (4.3) reduces, dropping tildes, to the following:
Z tl2T -te
2i3iJ
= h (w) + ig(x), (4.8)
which along with the Petrov type D condition HI constitutes
a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a
separable solution of the form given in Eqs. (2.6); indeed,
substituting Eq. (4.8) into Eq. (4.2) yields, by a consistency
argument similar to that used for the neutrino equation, the
following system of coupled first-order ordinary differential
equations:
D': Kt(w) - if-teh (W)K2(W) = A
D
K
2
(w),
D;;; K
2
(w) - if-teh (w)Kt(w) = - ADKt(w), (4.9a)
D x- H
2
(x) + f-teg(x)Ht(x) = - ADHt(x),
D x+ Ht(x) + f-teg(x)H2(X) = ADH2(x). (4.9b)
This completes the proof of Theorem 3.
It should be noted that one recovers as special cases of
Eqs. (4.9) the separated equations in the
Kerr solution, of Carter and McLenaghan
52
in the Kerr-
Newman solution and of Giiven
53
in the Kinnersley case II
vacuum solutions. One also notes that the first-order system
(4.9) can be written as a system of decoupled second-order
ordinary differential equations which reads as follows:
1025 J. Math. Phys., Vol. 25, No.4, April 1984
o 0 if-te (D ;;; h (w)) 0 +
D;;; D': Kt(w) - D w Kt(w)
AD + if-teh (w)
+ (A t + f-t;h (w)Z)Kt(w) = 0,
o 0 iJJ (D + h (w)) 0
D + D - K (w) - r'e w D - K (w)
w w 2 '+' h() W 2
- ""-D If-te W
+ (A t + f-t;h (W)Z)K2(W) = 0,
D x- D x+ Ht(x) - f-te(D x- g(x)) D x+ Ht(x)
- AD + f-teg(x)
+ (A t - f-t;g(x)2)Ht(x) = 0,
D x+ D x- H
2
(x) - f-te(D x+ g(x)) D x- Hz(x)
AD + f-teg(X)
+ (A t - f-t;g(x)Z)Hz(x) = O.
(4. lOa)
(4. lOb)
(4.lOc)
(4.lOd)
We again remark that one recovers as special cases of Eqs.
(4.10) the decoupled second-order equations ofChandrasek-
har
54
in the Kerr solution, of Page 55 and Carter and McLen-
aghan
56
in the Kerr-Newman solution, and of Giiven
57
in
the Kinnersley case II vacuum solutions.
5. PROOF OF THEOREM 4
The main tool in our proof is the identity (2.9). Ifwe go
back to Eq. (3.6), we see that we have a splitting
W N = WNw + W Nx'
(S.l)
where WNw and W Nx are given in Eqs. (2.11). It should be
noted that except for derivatives with respect to the ignora-
ble coordinates a 1 au and a 1 av, WNw depends only on wand
W Nx depends only on x, moreover it may be readily checked
that
[W Nw' W Nx] = O.
(S.2)
Now, if we refer ourselves to the single expression presented
in Ref. 18 for the general solution of the class Sl) field equa-
tions, we have as solution to Eqs. (2.6c)
f!lJ = (iI4) [In(b 2(CW cos r + k ) - i(cx sin r + I))
-In(b 2(CW cos r + k) + i(cx sin r + I))], (S.3)
which implies that the matrix UN' obtained upon substitu-
tion of f!lJ's expression (4.3) into the definition (3.S) ofthe
matrix U, splits as follows
UN = U
Nw
+ U
Nx
, (S.4a)
with U Nw and U Nx given by Eqs. (2.11).
Also, one checks immediately that
[UNw,U
Nx
] = O. (S.4b)
Thus, if we set in the identity (2.9)
P= UN' Pt = UNx ' P2 = UNw' M = WNx ' NNw'(S,S)
we obtain part (i) of Theorem 4, thanks to Eqs. (5.2) and (S.4).
To prove part (ii) of Theorem 4, we proceed as follows. Equa-
tions (3.13) are equivalent, using Eqs. (3.9), to the following
relations:
i .: F
2
(w,x) = AN Gz(w,x), i x+ F\(w,x) = A
N
G
2
(w,x),
(S.6a)
i.: Gt(w,x) = ANFt(w,x), i x+ Gt(w,x) = ANFz(w,x),
(S.6b)
N. Kamran and R. G. McLenaghan 1025
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i x- Gz(w,x) = - ANFI(w,x), i;; Gz(W,x) = - ANFz(w,x),
(5.6c)
i x- Fz(w,x) = - ANGI(W,X), i;; FI(w,x) = - ANGI(w,X).
(5.6d)
Now, on account of Eqs. (5.1b) and (3.7), it is easily seen that
Eqs. (5.6) are equivalent to
(5.7)
Equations (5.7) enable us to show as follows that tf is an
eigenspinor of KN with the separation constant AN as eigen-
value. Let us first note that S N as defined in (2.11 b) is ob-
tained by replacing J with its expression (5.3) for the class:D
solutions in the definition (3.3b) of S. We have then from
(2.11a), (3.3a), (5.4a), and (5.7):
KNtf=SU ii I(UNxWNwtf' - UNwWNxtf')
=ANSU iil(U
Nx
+ U
Nw
)' =ANtf
6. PROOF OF THEOREM 5
(5.8)
Ifwe consider the separability condition (4.8) and we
refer ourselves to the single expression presented in DKM
for the general solution of the class :D field equations, we see
that in the tetrad and class of coordinates of Theorem 1, we
have separability for those solutions with
T(w,x) = 1, (6.1)
in the above-mentioned single expression, that is, the Carter
[A] solutions and theA
o
null orbit solution listed in the Cor-
ollary to Theorem 3.
Using now Eq. (6.1) along with the expression (5.3) for
J and the fact
58
that
Z (w,x) = b 4(ew cos r + k)Z + (ex sin r + I)z, (6.2)
in the above-mentioned single expression, we see from (4.2)
that there is a splitting
W D = W Dw + W Dx'
(6.3)
where W Dw and W Dx are as given in Eqs. (2.14).
It should be noted that in analogy with the neutrino
case, W Dw and W Dx depend, except for derivatives with re-
spect to the ignorable coordinates a/au and a/au, only on w
and x, respectively. We also have
(6.4)
Now, the matrix UD' obtained upon substitution of J's
expression (5.3) and the separability condition (6.1) into the
definition (3.5) of the matrix U, splits as follows:
(6.5)
with U
Dw
and U
Dx
given by Eqs. (2.14). It may then be veri-
fied by direct calculation that
[ U Dw ,U Dx ] = 0, [ U Dw' W Dx ] = 0, [ U Dx ,W Dw] = 0.
(6.6)
It is then straightforward to obtain part (i) of Theorem 5 by
applying the Identity (2.9) with
P= UD' PI = U
Dx
, P
z
= UDw ,
M=W
Dx
, N=W
Dw
, (6.7)
and using Eqs. (6.4), (6.5), and (6.6).
1026 J. Math. Phys., Vol. 25, No.4, April 1984
To prove part (ii) of Theorem 5, we note first that Eqs.
(6.2), (6.1), (5.3), and (4.8) y ~ l
h (w) = b Z(ew cos r + k), g(x) = ex sin r + I, (6.8)
so that Eqs. (4.9) imply, using Eqs. (3.7), (4.4), and (6.8) that
h.: Fz(w,x) - ilteb Z(ew cos r + k )Gz(w,x) = A
D
G
2
(W,X),
(6.9a)
h x+ FI(w,x) + Ite(ex sin r + I)G
2
(w,x) = AD Gz(w,x), (6.9b)
h.: G
1
(w,x) - ilteb Z(ew cos r + k )Fl(W,X) = ADFI(w,x),
(6.9c)
h / GI(w,x) + Ite(ex sin r + 1 )Fz(w,x) = ADFz(w,x), (6.9d)
h x- Gz(w,x) + Ite(ex sin r + 1 )FI(W,X) = - ADFI(w,x),
(6.ge)
h;; G
2
(w,x) - liJ,eb 2(ew cos r + k )Fz(w,x) = - ADFz(w,x),
(6.9f)
D x- F
2
(w,x) +lte(ex sin r + I)GI(w,x) = -A
D
G
1
(W,x),
(6.9g)
h;; FI(w,x) - ilteb 2(ew cos r + k )GI(w,x) = - AD GI(w,x).
(6.9h)
Now, Eqs. (6.9), using the expressions (2. 14c) for W Dw
and W Dx and Eq. (3.7), are equivalent to
WDwtf' =ADtf', WDxtf' = -ADtf' (6.10)
We then have from Eqs. (2. 14a), (3.3a), (6.5), and (6.10)
KDtf = SU;; l(U
Dx
WDwtf' - U
Dw
WDxtf')
=A
D
SU;;l(UDX + UDw)'=ADtf. (6.11)
Let us finally note that the expression of the operators W Dw
and W
Dx
verifying the property (6.10) was computed in the
Kerr-Newman background by Carter and McLenaghan
59
in their analysis of Chandrasekhar's separation of variables
procedure.
Ip. A. M. Dirac, The Principles o/Quantum Mechanics (Oxford. U. P.,
London, 1958), 4th ed., p. 269.
2L. I. Schiff, Quantum Mechanics (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1955), 2nd
ed., p. 485.
3W. Miller, Jr., Symmetry and Separation 0/ Variables (Addison-Wesley,
Reading, MA, 1977), p. 2.
'Reference I, p. 267.
5B. Carter, Phys. Rev. 174,1559 (1968); Commun. Math. Phys. 10, 280
(1968).
"S. A. Teukolsky, Astrophys. J. 185,635 (1973).
7 A. L. Dudley and J. D. Finley, III, J. Math. Phys. 20,311 (1979).
8S. Chandrasekhar, Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. A 349,571 (1976).
9D. N. Page, Phys. Rev. D 14, 1509 (1976).
ION. Toop, preprint, D. A. M. T. P., Cambridge (1976).
II R. Giiven, Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. A 356, 465 (1977).
12B. Carter and R. G.McLenaghan, Phys. Rev. D 19, 1093(1979).
I3B. Carter and R. G.McLenaghan, in Proceedings o/the Second Marcel
Grossmann Meeting on Recent Developments o/General Relativity Trieste,
1979), edited by Ruffinni (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1982).
I'Reference 12.
I5R. G. McLenaghan and Ph. Spindel, Phys. Rev. D 20, 409 (1979); Bull.
Soc. Math. Belg. XXXI, 65 (1979).
16N. Kamran and R. G. McLenaghan, Lett. Math. Phys. 7, 381 (1983).
I7R. Debever, N. Kamran, and R. G. McLenaghan, J. Math. Phys. (in
press).
18The results of Ref. 17 were announced by the same authors in Phys. Lett.
93A, 399 (1983) and in Bull. Cl. Sci. Acad. Roy. Belg. LXVIII, 592 (1982).
19Reference 17.
20 A. Lichnerowicz, in Relativity, Groups and Topology, edited by B. S.
N. Kamran and R. G. McLenaghan 1026
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198.125.162.173 On: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 20:04:56
DeWitt and C. DeWitt (Gordon and Breach, New York, 1963), p. 823.
2'R. Debever, Bull. Cl. Sci. Acad. Roy. Belg. LV, 8 (1969).
22Reference 17.
23p. Moon and D. E. Spencer, Field Theory Handbook (Springer-Verlag,
New York, 1971), 2nd ed., p. 96.
24Reference 17, Eq. (4.2).
25Reference 6.
26Reference 7.
27J. M. Stewart and M. Walker, Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. A 341, 49 (1974).
28R. Debever and R. G. McLenaghan, J. Math. Phys. 22,1711 (1981).
29Reference 8.
30Reference 9.
31 Reference 10.
32Reference 11.
"Reference 28.
34S. R. Czapor and R. G.McLenaghan, J. Math. Phys. 23, 2159 (1982).
"B. Carter, Phys. Rev. D 16, 3395 (1977).
36B. Carter, in Black Holes, edited by B. DeWitt and C. DeWitt (Gordon
and Breach, New York, 1973), p. 118.
37Reference 12.
3"Reference 4.
39References 12 and 13.
1027 J. Math. Phys., Vol. 25, No.4, April 1984
4Reference 12.
4'Reference 15.
42Reference 16.
"Reference 12.
"Reference 8, Eqs. (9) to (13).
45Reference 17, Eqs. (4.1) and (4.2).
'''This was demonstrated in the electrovac case in Ref. 28 and in the vacuum
case in Ref. 34.
47Reference 8, Eqs. (30).
48Reference 6, Eqs. (4.9) and (4.10) with lsi = \.
49Reference 7, Eqs. (5.18a) and (5.18b) with lsi = \.
50Reference 9, Eqs. (3H6).
"Reference 8, Eqs. (40) and (41).
52Reference 13, Eqs. (4.9) and (4.10).
"Reference II, Eqs. (47H50).
;4Reference 8, Eqs. (44) and (45).
"Reference 9, Eqs. (19) and (20).
56Reference 13, Eqs. (4.13) and (4.14).
57Reference II, Eqs. (54) and (55).
58Reference 17, Eqs. (2.6aH2.6c).
59Reference 13, Eq. (4.5).
N. Kamran and R. G. McLenaghan 1027
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