Geodesic motion in the (rotating) black string spacetime

Abstract

In this article we study the geodesic motion of test particles and light in the five-dimensional (rotating) black string spacetime. If a compact dimension is added to the four-dimensional Schwarzschild or Kerr spacetime, the new five-dimensional metric describes a (rotating) black string. The geodesics in the Schwarzschild and Kerr spacetime have been studied in great detail, however, when a compact dimension is added new behaviour occurs. We present the analytical solutions of the geodesic equations and discuss the possible orbits. The motion in the ordinary four-dimensional Schwarzschild and Kerr spacetime is compared to the motion in the (rotating) black string spacetime.