Carter-like Constants of the Motion in Newtonian Gravity and Electrodynamics

Clifford M. Will
Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 061101 – Published 12 February 2009

Abstract

For a test body orbiting an axisymmetric body in Newtonian gravitational theory with mass m and multiple moments Q (and for a charge in 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 for rotating black holes in general relativity, if the odd- moments vanish, and the even- moments satisfy Q2=m(Q2/m). 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, we are unable to find an analogous Carter-like constant. This further highlights the special nature of the Kerr geometry.

  • Received 29 November 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.061101

©2009 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Clifford M. Will*

  • GReCO, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 98 bis Bd. Arago, 75014 Paris, France
  • Department of Physics, McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis Missouri 63130, USA†

  • *cmw@wuphys.wustl.edu http://physics.wustl.edu/cmw
  • Permanent address.

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Vol. 102, Iss. 6 — 13 February 2009

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