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We know that the Schwarzschild solution pictures the outside region of a spherical distribution of mass $M$, which is also non-rotating, charge-free and spherically symmetric. We can begin to describe this way objects such like stars or black holes. On the other hand, the Kerr solution is an axially symmetric spacetime for black holes only, which written in Boyer-Lindquist coordinates resembles a line element whose coordinate basis when $M\to 0$ is similar to oblate spheroidal coordinates:

$$x=\sqrt{r^2+a^2}\sin\theta\cos\phi,$$ $$y=\sqrt{r^2+a^2}\sin\theta\sin\phi,$$ $$z=r\cos\theta;$$

for $r=a\sinh\mu$ and $\theta=\pi/2-\nu$.

Therefore, for a "sub-special" case, a Kerr BH looks like an oblate spheroid (seed shaped, like an M&M). Is there a general form to look at a Kerr BH as a 3D surface? I think there should be different cases, depending on the value of the spin parameter $a=J/Mc$ and the mass $M $, i.e. on how the 3D sub-line element looks:

$$d\ell^2=\frac{\Sigma}{\Delta}\,dr^2 +\Sigma\, d\theta^2+\left(r^2+a^2+\frac{2GMra^2}{\Sigma\,c^2}\sin^2\theta\right)\sin^2\theta\,d\varphi^2.$$

However, I cannot imagine this the way I imagine a sphere like in the Schwarzschild solution. What am I missing?

omivela17
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1 Answers1

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Strictly speaking, it is not true that the Schwarzschild solution is describing a spherical mass. The Schwarzschild solution is a vacuum solution of the Einstein Equation's, with a singularly at $r=0$. You can see this from $R_{\mu\nu}=0$ for all spacetime points. If we were to solve for a spacetime with a sphere with mass $M$, we would have a non-vanishing energy-momentum tensor and therefore also non-vanishing Ricci tensor. Of course, we know that if the scale of the object we consider is $R_{\rm M}$, the spacetime far away from the mass $r\gg R_{\rm M}$ is well described by the Schwarzschild metric.

What you might be referring to is the shape of the event horizon, and it is true, that this is changing from a Schwarzschild to a Kerr black hole. The event horizon of a Kerr black hole is non-spherical. Another related post can be found here.

konstle
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