Electrostatic Equilibrium of Two Spherical Charged Masses in General Relativity

Approximate solutions representing the gravitational-electrostatic balance of two arbitrary point sources in general relativity have led to contradictory arguments in the literature with respect to the condition of balance. Up to the present time, the only known exact solutions which can be interpreted as the non-linear superposition of two spherically symmetric (Reissner-Nordstr om) bodies without an intervening strut has been for critically charged masses, M 2 i = Q i . In the present paper, an exact electrostatic solution of the EinsteinMaxwell equations representing the exterior eld of two arbitrary charged Reissner-Nordstrom bodies in equilibrium is studied. The invariant physical charge for each source is found by direct integration of Maxwell's equations. The physical mass for each source is invariantly de ned in a manner similar to which the charge was found. It is shown through numerical methods that balance without tension or strut can occur for non-critically charged bodies. It is demonstrated that other authors have not identi ed the correct physical parameters for the mass and charge of the sources. Further properties of the solution, including the multipole structure and comparison with other parameterizations, are examined. 04.20.Jb, 04.40.Nr Typeset using REVTEX