<p>In this thesis we study multipole moments of axisymmetric spacetimes. Using the recursive definition of the multipole moments of Geroch and Hansen we develop a method for computing all multipole moments of a stationary axisymmetric spacetime without the use of a recursion. This is a generalisation of a method developed by Herberthson for the static case.</p><p>Using Herberthson’s method we also develop a method for finding a static axisymmetric spacetime with arbitrary prescribed multipole moments, subject to a specified convergence criteria. This method has, in general, a step where one has to find an explicit expression for an implicitly defined function. However, if the number of multipole moments are finite we give an explicit expression in terms of power series.</p> / Note: The two articles are also available in the pdf-file. Report code: LiU-TEK-LIC-2006:4.

This is a thesis on general relativity. It analyzes dynamical properties of Einstein's field equations in cosmology and in the vicinity of spacetime singularities in a number of different situations. Different techniques are used depending on the particular problem under study; dynamical systems methods are applied to cosmological models with spatial homogeneity; Hamiltonian methods are used in connection with dynamical systems to find global monotone quantities determining the asymptotic states; Fuchsian methods are used to quantify the structure of singularities in spacetimes without symmetries. All these separate methods of analysis provide insights about different facets of the structure of the equations, while at the same time they show the relationships between those facets when the different methods are used to analyze overlapping areas. The thesis consists of two parts. Part I reviews the areas of mathematics and cosmology necessary to understand the material in part II, which consists of five papers. The first two of those papers uses dynamical systems methods to analyze the simplest possible homogeneous model with two tilted perfect fluids with a linear equation of state. The third paper investigates the past asymptotic dynamics of barotropic multi-fluid models that approach a `silent and local' space-like singularity to the past. The fourth paper uses Hamiltonian methods to derive new monotone functions for the tilted Bianchi type II model that can be used to completely characterize the future asymptotic states globally. The last paper proves that there exists a full set of solutions to Einstein's field equations coupled to an ultra-stiff perfect fluid that has an initial singularity that is very much like the singularity in Friedman models in a precisely defined way. / <p>Status of the paper "Perfect Fluids and Generic Spacelike Singularities" has changed from manuscript to published since the thesis defense.</p>

In this thesis we investigate the superenergy tensor that was introduced by Chevreton in 1964 as an electromagnetic counterpart to the Bel-Robinson tensor for the gravitational feld. We show that in Einstein-Maxwell spacetimes with a source-free electromagnetic feld, the Chevreton superenergy tensor has many interesting properties. It is a completely symmetric rank-4 tensor and it gives rise to conserved currents for orthogonally transitive 1- and 2-parameter isometry groups. The trace of this tensor is divergence-free and it is related to the Bach tensor. We investigate the implications for when the trace vanishes and we are able to determine the full set of such spacetimes. We use this to treat the problem of Einstein{-Maxwell spacetimes that are conformally related to Einstein spaces and we find new exact solutions with this property.

In this thesis we aim to develop new perspectives on the statistical mechanics of black holes using an information geometric approach (Ruppeiner and Weinhold geometry). The Ruppeiner metric is defined as a Hessian matrix on a Gibbs surface, and provides a geometric description of thermodynamic systems in equilibrium. This Ruppeiner geometry exhibits physically suggestive features; a flat Ruppeiner metric for systems with no interactions i.e. the ideal gas, and curvature singularities signaling critical behavior(s) of the system. We construct a flatness theorem based on the scaling property of the black holes, which proves to be useful in many cases. Another thermodynamic geometry known as the Weinhold geometry is defined as the Hessian of internal energy and is conformally related to the Ruppeiner metric with the system’s temperature as a conformal factor.  We investigate a number of black hole families in various gravity theories. Our findings are briefly summarized as follows: the Reissner-Nordström type, the Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton andBTZ black holes have flat Ruppeiner metrics that can be represented by a unique state space diagram. We conjecture that the state space diagram encodes extremality properties of the black hole solution. The Kerr type black holes have curved Ruppeiner metrics whose curvature singularities are meaningful in five dimensions and higher, signifying the onset of thermodynamic instabilities of the black hole in higher dimensions. All the three-parameter black hole families in our study have non-flat Ruppeiner and Weinhold metrics and their associated curvature singularities occur in the extremal limits. We also study two-dimensional black hole families whose thermodynamic geometries are dependent on parameters that determine the thermodynamics of the black hole in question. The tidal charged black hole which arises in the braneworld gravity is studied. Despite its similarity to the Reissner-Nordström type, its thermodynamic geometries are distinctive. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. / Geometry and Physics

Gravitational perturbations can be in the form of scalars, vectors or tensors. This thesis focuses on the evolution of scalar perturbations in cosmology, and interactions between tensor perturbations, in the form of gravitational waves, and plasma waves. The gravitational waves studied in this thesis are assumed to have small amplitudes and wavelengths much shorter than the background length scale, allowing for the assumption of a flat background metric. Interactions between gravitational waves and plasmas are described by the Einstein-Maxwell-Vlasov, or the Einstein-Maxwell-fluid equations, depending on the level of detail required. Using such models, linear wave excitation of various waves by gravitational waves in astrophysical plasmas are studied, with a focus on resonance effects. Furthermore, the influence of strong magnetic field quantum electrodynamics, leading to detuning of the gravitational wave-electromagnetic wave resonances, is considered. Various nonlinear phenomena, including parametric excitation and wave steepening are also studied in different astrophysical settings. In cosmology the evolution of gravitational perturbations are of interest in processes such as structure formation and generation of large scale magnetic fields. Here, the growth of density perturbations in Kantowski-Sachs cosmologies with positive cosmological constant is studied.