Symmetry operators for the conformal wave equation in rotating black hole spacetimes

Abstract

We present covariant symmetry operators for the conformal wave equation in the (off-shell) Kerr-NUT-AdS spacetimes. These operators, that are constructed from the principal Killing-Yano tensor, its `symmetry descendants', and the curvature tensor, guarantee separability of the conformal wave equation in these spacetimes. We next discuss how these operators give rise to a full set of conformally invariant mutually commuting operators for the conformally rescaled spacetimes and underlie the $R$-separability of the conformal wave equation therein. Finally, by employing the WKB approximation we derive the associated Hamilton-Jacobi equation with a scalar curvature potential term and show its separability in the Kerr-NUT-AdS spacetimes.

v2: extended version which contains discussion of conformally invariant symmetry operators