On static solutions of the Einstein - Scalar Field equations

Abstract

In this article we study self-gravitating static solutions of the Einstein-ScalarField system in arbitrary dimensions. We discuss the existence and the non-existence of geodesically complete solutions depending on the form of the scalar field potential $V(\phi)$, and provide full global geometric estimates when the solutions exist. Our main results are summarised as follows. For the Klein-Gordon field, namely when $V(\phi)=m^{2}|\phi|^{2}$, it is proved that geodesically complete solutions have Ricci-flat spatial metric, have constant lapse and are vacuum, (that is $\phi$ is constant and equal to zero if $m\neq 0$). In particular, when the spatial dimension is three, the only such solutions are either Minkowski or a quotient thereof (no nontrivial solutions exist). When $V(\phi)=m^{2}|\phi|^{2}+2\Lambda$, that is, when a vacuum energy or a cosmological constant is included, it is proved that no geodesically complete solution exists when $\Lambda>0$, whereas when $\Lambda<0$ it is proved that no non-vacuum geodesically complete solution exists unless $m^{2}<-2\Lambda/(n-1)$, ($n$ is the spatial dimension) and the spatial manifold is non-compact. The proofs are based on techniques in comparison geometry \'a la Backry-Emery.