Linear stability of nonbidiagonal black holes in massive gravity

Abstract

We consider generic linear perturbations of a nonbidiagonal class of static black-hole solutions in massive (bi)gravity. We show that the quasinormal spectrum of these solutions coincides with that of a Schwarzschild black hole in general relativity, thus proving that these solutions are mode stable. This is in contrast to the case of bidiagonal black-hole solutions which are affected by a radial instability. On the other hand, the full set of perturbation equations is generically richer than that of a Schwarzschild black hole in general relativity, and this affects the linear response of the black hole to external perturbations. Finally, we argue that the generalization of these solutions to the spinning case does not suffer from the superradiant instability, despite the fact that the theory describes a massive graviton.