An infinity of black holes

Abstract

In general relativity (without matter), there is typically a one parameter family of static, maximally symmetric black hole solutions labeled by their mass. We show that there are situations with many more black holes. We study asymptotically anti-de Sitter solutions in six and seven dimensions having a conformal boundary which is a product of spheres cross time. We show that the number of families of static, maximally symmetric black holes depends on the ratio, λ, of the radii of the boundary spheres. As λ approaches a critical value, λ c , the number of such families becomes infinite. In each family, we can take the size of the black hole to zero, obtaining an infinite number of static, maximally symmetric non-black hole solutions. We discuss several applications of these results, including Hawking–Page phase transitions and the phase diagram of dual field theories on a product of spheres, new positive energy conjectures, and more.