Abstract
RECENTLY the Kerr metric has been studied in connexion with the hypothesis of Lynden-Bell1,2 that galactic nuclei are collapsed quasars. Geodesics in the Kerr metric have also been studied by Carter3 and de Felice4. The purpose of this communication is to point out an interesting feature of time-like geodesics in the Kerr metric. Using “Schwarzschild-like” coordinates, the Kerr metric can be written5 aswhereJ is identified as the angular momentum, and M as the Schwarzschild mass. It has been found2 that the equations of motion for a particle in the equatorial plane of a rotating body are given bywhere h and k are constant. Equation 2 implies that dψ/ds = 0 at
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References
Lynden-Bell, D., Proc. Vatican Semaine d'Etude (1970).
de Silva, L. N. K., thesis, Univ. Sussex (1970).
Carter, B., Phys. Rev., 174, 1559 (1968).
de Felice, F., Nuovo Cimento, 57B, 351 (1968).
Boyer, R. H., and Lindquist, R. W., J. Math. Phys., 8, 265 (1967).
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DE SILVA, L. Retrograde Motion in the Kerr Metric. Nature Physical Science 231, 148–149 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/physci231148b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/physci231148b0
