General relativity |
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In general relativity, the van Stockum dust is an exact solution of the Einstein field equations where the gravitational field is generated by dust rotating about an axis of cylindrical symmetry. Since the density of the dust is increasing with distance from this axis, the solution is rather artificial, but as one of the simplest known solutions in general relativity, it stands as a pedagogically important example.
This solution is named after Willem Jacob van Stockum, who rediscovered it in 1938 independently of a much earlier discovery by Cornelius Lanczos in 1924. It is currently recommended that the solution be referred to as the Lanczos–van Stockum dust.