| The zeroth and first laws of black hole mechanics are traditionally formulated in terms of a class of stationary space-times containing event horizons. However, this class of solutions is too restrictive to include a variety of physically interesting situations. This thesis describes the extension of the zeroth and first laws to a much broader class of space-times containing isolated horizons. A space-time representing a black hole which is itself in equilibrium, but whose exterior contains radiation, admits such a horizon. Using Hamiltonian techniques, quasi-local definitions of the “extrinsic parameters” of a black hole—the quantities which are related by the first law—are formulated for generic isolated horizons. These definitions reveal a remarkable connection between the first law and the classical Hamiltonian formalism. |
