English

Carter-like constants of the motion in Newtonian gravity and electrodynamics

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2009-02-27 v1

Abstract

For a test body orbiting an axisymmetric body in Newtonian gravitational theory with multipole moments Q_L, (and for a charge in a non-relativistic orbit about a charge distribution with the same multipole moments) we show that there exists, in addition to the energy and angular momentum component along the symmetry axis, a conserved quantity analogous to the Carter constant of Kerr spacetimes in general relativity, if the odd-L moments vanish, and the even-L moments satisfy Q_2L = m (Q_2/m)^L. Strangely, this is precisely the relation among mass moments enforced by the no-hair theorems of rotating black holes. By contrast, if Newtonian gravity is supplemented by a multipolar gravitomagnetic field, whose leading term represents frame-dragging (or if the electrostatic field is supplemented by a multipolar magnetic field), we are unable to find an analogous Carter-like constant. This further highlights the very special nature of the Kerr geometry of general relativity.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.0812.0110,
  title  = {Carter-like constants of the motion in Newtonian gravity and electrodynamics},
  author = {Clifford M. Will},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0812.0110},
  year   = {2009}
}

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4 pages