Linear stability of Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet static spacetimes. Part I: tensor perturbations

We study the stability under linear perturbations of a class of static solutions of Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity in $D=n+2$ dimensions with spatial slices of the form $\Sigma_{\k}^n \times {\mathbb R}^+$, $\Sigma_{\k}^n$ an $n-$manifold of constant curvature $\k$. Linear perturbations for this class of space-times can be generally classified into tensor, vector and scalar types. The analysis in this paper is restricted to tensor perturbations.