Abstract The integrability or non-integrability of a spacetime usually refers to whether the motion of massive or massless particles in the spacetime is integrable or not. The standard black hole spacetimes such as the Schwarzschild and Kerr metrics are always integrable for both timelike and null geodesics. They belong to a first type of spacetime. However, the Melvin type spacetimes as a second type of spacetime are non-integrable, regardless of whether they are for massive or massless particle motion. In this paper, we discover the possibility of a third type of spacetime with non-integrable dynamics of timelike geodesics and integrable dynamics of null geodesics. In fact, conformal transformations may transform type one solutions into type three. This is due to the conformal factors preventing the separation of variables from the Hamilton–Jacobi equation and leading to the absence of a fourth constant of motion for the massive particle dynamics. Nevertheless, the massless particle motion still remains integrable in these metrics for any conformal factors because the conformal factors have no effect on the null geodesics whatsoever. The conformal Kerr metric is an example of the third type of spacetime. In addition to the conformal transformation method, other paths may yield the third type of spacetime. The Kerr–Bertotti–Robinson black hole metric and the accelerating Schwarzschild spacetime are two examples of non-conformal solutions that are also of type three.
Lu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.