Komar angular momentum Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-07
Komar angular momentum is the Komar charge associated with an axial Killing vector field in four-dimensional general relativity. In geometrized units its normalization is , where is the metric-dual differential one-form. With zero cosmological constant, vacuum Einstein field equations make , so homologous surrounding surfaces in the vacuum region give the same charge.
Komar angular momentum with inner boundaries Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-14
With zero cosmological constant and the component Hodge star operator convention , the Einstein field equations and Killing equation give . If is tangent to a spacelike hypersurface, the trace term pulls back to zero. For , Stokes theorem yieldsThe inner Komar charges cannot be dropped for a vacuum Kerr black hole, whose angular momentum is nonzero although its stress-energy tensor vanishes. A matter-only volume formula requires a regular filling with no inner boundaries.
Komar charge Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-11-05
A Komar charge is an oriented surface integral constructed from a Killing vector field and the metric tensor. Let be the metric-dual differential one-form of a stationary Killing vector field. In four dimensions, with geometrized units and the standard future/outward orientation, its mass normalization iswhere is the Hodge star operator and is a closed spacelike two-surface. The normalization of the Killing vector field fixes the time scale: for Schwarzschild spacetime, unit time translation at infinity gives the black-hole mass parameter.
The Killing equation relates the divergence of to a contraction of the Ricci tensor. Consequently, homologous enclosing surfaces give the same mass in a vacuum region with zero cosmological constant. Matter or a nonzero cosmological constant introduces a volume contribution; an arbitrary finite-radius surface integral need not equal the asymptotic mass. Axial symmetry instead gives Komar angular momentum with a different normalization.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 66 1 b i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use geometrized units . For a stationary asymptotically flat spacetime, normalize the timelike Killing vector field to have squared norm at infinity. The Komar mass isHere the oriented binormal is chosen so that an ordinary positive-mass static solution gives a positive integral. Equivalently, on a static slice with lapse and outward spatial unit normal ,This second expression fixes the orientation unambiguously and is convenient for the Majumdar–Papapetrou solution.
The spatial metric is and . On a large coordinate sphere, and . ThusThe original PDF has the Euclidean norm in each source denominator, which is missing in the TeX aid. With that norm, the harmonic function has asymptoticsThereforeIf are retained as length parameters while is restored, the physical mass is . This is the charge at infinity. A Komar integral is not generally surface-independent here, since Einstein-Maxwell theory has the electromagnetic stress-energy tensor between the surfaces; in particular it should not be confused with a sum of vacuum horizon Komar charges.
For a Killing vector field , set . Choose surface orientation conventions so that the Komar charge, up to overall normalization, isThis is the Komar current from trace-reversed stress-energy construction. The equality is the spacetime Stokes theorem. With , the Killing equation and give . In four dimensions, at zero cosmological constant, the Einstein field equations give the currentReversing orientation changes the common overall sign, not conservation. The contracted Bianchi identity givesAn isometry preserves scalar curvature, and the second term contracts symmetric and antisymmetric tensors. Equivalently stress-energy conservation, the Killing equation, and cancel the matter expression; its trace derivative needs this last observation. Hence . Nonzero cosmological constant adds to the geometric current, also divergence-free.