On applications of Campbell's embedding theorem (Q4340970)

The authors consider the problem of embedding spacetimes into manifolds (with metrics) of higher dimension. They introduce and discuss a theorem due to \textit{J. E. Campbell} [``A course of differential geometry'', Clarendon Press, Oxford (1926; JFM 52.0686.01)] which seems to have gone largely unnoticed. This theorem says that if \(M\) is an \(n\)-dimensional analytic manifold \(M'\) with metric \(g\) then it can be locally embedded in an \((n+1)\)-dimensional manifold with metric \(g'\) and where if \(g\) has signature \((p,g)\), \(g'\) has signature \((p+1,q)\) or \((p,q+1)\) and where \(g'\) has zero Ricci tensor. Expressions relating \(g'\) and \(g\) are given but no statement as to how general such a relation is made. Campbell's theorem involves a certain set of functions which can be (and the authors here do) set to zero. They then investigate this embedding problem using as examples for \(g\) some well-known metrics from general relativity. Amongst those considered are metrics with a covariantly constant null vector field \(k\). However, the authors assume that this implies that the Ricci tensor of \(g\) takes the form \(R_{ab}\propto k_ak_b\) and that the line element \(g\) is then \[ ds^2= dudv+ f(x,y,u)du^2- dx^2- dy^2 \] and the reviewer does not see how this follows. Indeed these results do follow if a covariantly constant null bivector is admitted (Ehlers and Kundt 1962). Other metrics to which the general theory is applied are the vacuum plane fronted waves, electromagnetic waves, and Einstein spaces. Some examples of embedding lower-dimensional spacetimes are also discussed.