---
author:
- |
    Matthew Headrick\
    Martin Fisher School of Physics, Brandeis University, Waltham MA 02454, USA\
- |
    Sam Kitchen and Toby Wiseman\
    Theoretical Physics Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, UK\
    ,
bibliography:
- 'ref.bib'
date: May 2009
title: 'A new approach to static numerical relativity, and its application to Kaluza-Klein black holes'
---

Introduction
============

In four-dimensional general relativity, the space of physically relevant geometries, and the methods for finding them, are well understood. The stationary solutions are privileged, being possible end states of dynamical processes, and in vacuum the uniqueness theorems imply that the most general solution is the Kerr black hole, whose solution is known analytically. The problem of constructing dynamical spacetimes is in general a numerical one, as exact solutions are often unknown for situations of interest, in particular those with few symmetries such as generic gravitational collapse or black hole mergers. The tools for solving the dynamical Einstein equations are well understood and have enjoyed intense study both theoretically and computationally.

The consideration of general relativity in more than four dimensions can be motivated in a variety of ways. Such studies date back almost a century to Kaluza and Klein, and 