Quantum Spectrum for a Kerr-Newman Black Hole

In this paper, we consider the quantum area spectrum for a rotating and charged (Kerr-Newman) black hole. Generalizing a recent study on Kerr black holes (which was inspired by the static-black hole formalism of Barvinsky, Das and Kunstatter), we show that the quantized area operator can be expressed in terms of three quantum numbers (roughly related to the mass, charge and spin sectors). More precisely, we find that $A=8\pi\hbar[n+{1\over 2}+{p_1\over 2}+p_2]$, where $n$, $p_1$ and $p_2$ are strictly non-negative integers. In this way, we are able to confirm a uniformly spaced spectrum even for a fully general Kerr-Newman black hole. Along the way, we derive certain selection rules and use these to demonstrate that, in spite of appearances, the charge and spin spectra are not completely independent.