A new exact rotating spacetime in vacuum: The Kerr--Levi-Civita Spacetime

Abstract: We construct a new rotating solution of Einstein's theory in vacuum by exploiting the Lie point symmetries of the field equations in the complex potential formalism of Ernst. In particular, we perform a discrete symmetry transformation, known as inversion, of the gravitational potential associated with the Kerr metric. The resulting metric describes a rotating generalization of the Schwarzschild--Levi-Civita spacetime, and we refer to it as the Kerr--Levi-Civita metric. We study the key geometric features of this novel spacetime, which turns out to be free of curvature singularities, topological defects, and closed timelike curves. These attractive properties are also common to the extremal black hole and the super-spinning case. The solution is algebraically general (Petrov-type I), and its horizon structure is exactly that of the Kerr spacetime. The ergoregions, however, are strongly influenced by the Levi-Civita-like asymptotic structure, producing an effect akin to the magnetized Kerr--Newman and swirling solutions. Interestingly, while its static counterpart permits a Kerr--Schild representation, the Kerr--Levi-Civita metric does not admit such a formulation.