We find and analyze solutions of Einstein’s equations in arbitrary dimensions and in the presence of a scalar field with a Liouville potential coupled to a Maxwell field. We consider spacetimes of cylindrical symmetry or again subspaces of dimension $d-2$ with constant curvature and analyze in detail the field equations and manifest their symmetries. The field equations of the full system are shown to reduce to a single or couple of ordinary differential equations, which can be used to solve analytically or numerically the theory for the symmetry at hand. Further solutions can also be generated by a solution-generating technique akin to the electromagnetic duality in the absence of a cosmological constant. We then find and analyze explicit solutions including black holes and gravitating solitons for the case of four-dimensional relativity and the higher-dimensional oxidized five-dimensional spacetime. The general solution is obtained for a certain relation between couplings in the case of cylindrical symmetry.

• Received 29 May 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.80.024028