The Carter constant and Petrov classification of the Vaidya–Einstein–Kerr spacetime

Abstract

The existence of the Carter constant in the Vaidya–Einstein–Kerr (VEK) spacetime and its relation to the Petrov type is investigated. This spacetime is an example of a black hole in an asymptotically non-flat background. We construct the Carter constant and obtain the Killing tensor in the VEK spacetime. The Newman–Penrose formalism is employed to obtain the spin coefficients. We present a complete (Petrov) classification of the VEK spacetime and the special case of the non-rotating Vaidya–Einstein–Schwarzschild spacetime. We demonstrate explicitly that both spacetimes are of type-D.