Probing pure Lovelock gravity by Nariai and Bertotti-Robinson solutions

Abstract

The product spacetimes of constant curvature describe in Einstein gravity, which is linear in Riemann curvature, Nariai metric which is a solution of $Λ$-vacuum when curvatures are equal, $k_1=k_2$, while it is Bertotti-Robinson metric describing uniform electric field when curvatures are equal and opposite, $k_1=-k_2$. We probe pure Lovelock gravity by these simple product spacetimes and prove that the same characterization of these solutions is indeed true in general for pure Lovelock gravitational equation of order $N$ in $d=2N+2$ dimension. We also consider these solutions for the conventional setting of Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity.

Title changed, contents reordered, changes in the introduction to clarify some points