Xanthopoulos theorem in the Kaluza-Klein theory (Q1596252)

The authors first generalize Xanthopoulos' theorem for the four-dimensional vacuum Einstein field equations \(R_{\alpha\beta} = 0\), \((\alpha, \beta = 0, 1, 2, 3)\) [J. Math. Phys. 19, 1607-1609 (1978; Zbl 0978.83509)] to the \(N\)-dimensional case, \(\widehat{R}_{AB} = 0\), \((A, B = 0, 1, 2, \dots , N-1)\), with the signature of the metric \((-++ \dots +)\) or, equivalently, \((+-- \dots -)\), that is, if \(\widehat{g}_{AB}\) is a metric such that its Ricci tensor vanishes and \(l_{A}\) is a null vector \(\widehat{g}_{AB}l_{A}l_{B} = 0\), then \({\widehat{g}}' = \widehat{g}_{AB}+l_{A}l_{B}\) is also an exact solution of the Einstein vacuum equations \({\widehat{R}}_{AB}'[{\widehat{g}}'] = 0\), if and only if the metric perturbation \(\delta\widehat{g}_{AB} = l_{A}l_{B}\) satisfies the Einstein equations linearized about \(\widehat{g}_{AB}\). Then, the authors restrict themselves to the five-dimensional Kaluza-Klein theory which assumes that the fifth dimension has a spatial character and the field equations take the form, \(\widehat{R}_{AB} = 0\), \((A, B = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4)\). In the latter case it is well-known that when the metric \(\widehat{g}_{AB}\) depends only on the four spacetime coordinates \(x^{\alpha}\) \((\alpha= 0, 1 , 2, 3)\), where the five-dimensional coordinates \(x^{A}\) is defined as \(x^{A} = \{x^{\alpha}, \) \( x^{4}\}\), the metric \(\widehat{g}_{AB}(x^{\alpha})\) can be decomposed into a four-metric \(g_{\alpha\beta}(x^{\alpha})\), an electromagnetic field \(F_{\alpha}(x^{\alpha})\) and a scalar field \(\Phi(x^{\alpha})\). Combining this fact with the above generalized Xanthopoulos' theorem, the authors find the relationship between the quantities \(\{g_{\alpha\beta}\), \(F_{\alpha}\), \(\Phi\}\) and the ones \(\{{g}_{\alpha\beta}'\), \({F}_{\alpha}'\), \(\Phi'\}\), and the conditions imposed on the null vector \(l_{A}\). As an application of their theorem, the authors consider the simple case where \(\{\widehat{g}_{AB}\} = \text{diag}\{1, -1, -1, -1, -1\}\).