We show that there is a function of one variable's worth of Lagrangians for a single Maxwell field coupled to gravity whose equations of motion admit electric-magnetic duality. Such Lagrangians are given by solutions of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation for timelike geodesics in Witten's two-dimensional black hole. Among them are the Born-Infeld Lagrangian which arises in open string theory. We investigate the effect of the axion and the dilaton in the open superstring case and we show that this theory loses its electric-magnetic duality invariance when one considers the higher order electromagnetic field terms. We discuss some implications for black holes in string theory and an extension to 2k-forms in 4k spacetime dimensions.

The most general electrically and magnetically charged rotating black hole solutions of 5 dimensional Kaluza-Klein theory are given in an explicit form. Various classical quantities associated with the black holes are derived. In particular, one finds the very surprising result that the gyromagnetic and gyroelectric ratios can become arbitrarily large. The thermodynamic quantities of the black holes are calculated and a Smarr-type formula is obtained leading to a generalized first law of black hole thermodynamics. The properties of the extreme solutions are investigated and it is shown how they naturally separate into two classes. The extreme solutions in one class are found to have two unusual properties: (i). Their event horizons have zero angular velocity and yet they have non-zero ADM angular momentum. (ii). In certain circumstances it is possible to add angular momentum to these extreme solutions without changing the mass or charges and yet still maintain an extreme solution. Regarding the extreme black holes as elementary particles, their stability is discussed and it is found that they are stable provided they have sufficient angular momentum. *dar17@amtp.cam.ac.uk

The most general Lagrangian for non-linear electrodynamics coupled to an axion a and a dilaton φ with SL(2, R) invariant equations of motion iswhere L inv (g µν , F ρσ ) is a Lagrangian whose equations of motion are invariant under electric-magnetic duality rotations. In particular there is a unique generalization of Born-Infeld theory admitting SL(2, R) invariant equations of motion. * Supported by EPSRC grant no. 9400616X.

It has been argued by Dyson in the context of QED in flat spacetime that perturbative expansions in powers of the electric charge e cannot be convergent because if e is purely imaginary then the vacuum should be unstable to the production of charged pairs. We investigate the spontaneous production of such Dyson pairs in electrodynamics coupled to gravity. They are found to consist of pairs of zero-rest mass black holes with regular horizons. The properties of these zero rest mass black holes are discussed. We also consider ways in which a dilaton may be included and the relevance of this to recent ideas in string theory. We discuss accelerating solutions and find that, in certain circumstances, the 'no strut' condition may be satisfied giving a regular solution describing a pair of zero rest mass black holes accelerating away from one another. We also study wormhole and tachyonic solutions and how they affect the stability of the vacuum. * Supported by EPSRC grant no. 9400616X.