The large D limit of General Relativity

Roberto Emparan

ICREA (Barcelona)

 

Ninety-nine years after Einstein formulated General Relativity, the pivotal role of its most fundamental and fascinating objects --- the black holes --- is nowadays recognized in many areas of physics, even beyond astrophysics and cosmology. Still, solving the theory that governs their dynamics remains a formidable challenge that continues to demand new ideas. From many points of view, it is natural to consider the number of spacetime dimensions, D, as an adjustable parameter in the theory. Then we can use it for a perturbative expansion of the theory around the limit of very many dimensions, that is, considering 1/D as a small number. In this limit the gravitational field of a black hole simplifies greatly and its equations often turn out to be analytically tractable. A simple picture emerges in which, among other things, the shape of the black hole is determined by the same equations that describe soap bubbles.