MG 11 · 2006
Roy Kerr
Roy Kerr discovered the exact rotating black-hole solution of Einstein's equations.
Born
1934, Kurow, New Zealand
Affiliation at the Time of the Award
University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
Prize Motivation
“For his fundamental contribution to Einstein's theory of general relativity: The gravitational field of a spinning mass as an example of algebraically special metrics.”
Meeting
MG XI, Berlin, Germany
Work
Real astrophysical black holes are expected to rotate, so a rotating solution of Einstein's equations is essential.
Kerr found the exact metric describing the gravitational field of a spinning mass in 1963.
The Kerr solution became the standard mathematical model for astrophysical black holes and accretion physics.