Structure of stationary and axisymmetric metrics

We study the structure of stationary and axisymmetric metrics solving the vacuum Einstein equations of general relativity in four and higher dimensions, building on recent work in Phys. Rev. D 70, 124002 (2004). We write the Einstein equations in a new form that naturally identifies the sources for such metrics. The sources live in a one-dimensional subspace and the entire metric is uniquely determined by them. We study in detail the structure of stationary and axisymmetric metrics in four dimensions, and consider as an example the sources of the Kerr black hole.