Properties of the magnetic universe with positive cosmological constant

Abstract

The properties of the Melvin-type spacetime with a positive cosmological constant $\Lambda$ in $d$-dimensional Einstein--Maxwell gravity is studied. The solution is parametrised in terms of the `de Sitter radius' $\ell\propto\Lambda^{-1/2}$ and the magnetic field parameter $\beta$, and they are warped products of the form $\mathbb{R}^{1,d-3}\times S^2$, where $\mathbb{R}^{1,d-3}$ is the $(d-2)$-dimensional Minkowski spacetime and $S^2$ is topologically a two-sphere which contains a conical singularity, whose nature depends on the product $\beta\ell$. In the limit $\ell\rightarrow\infty$, the $S^2$ decompactifies and the $d$-dimensional Melvin universe is recovered. The Freund--Rubin-type flux compactification model is shown to be another particular limit of this solution. We also calculate the flux and geodesics in this spacetime.