A Goldberg–Sachs theorem in dimension three

We prove a Goldberg–Sachs theorem in dimension three. To be precise, given a three-dimensional Lorentzian manifold satisfying the topological massive gravity equations, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions on the tracefree Ricci tensor for the existence of a null line distribution whose orthogonal complement is integrable and totally geodetic. This includes, in particular, Kundt spacetimes that are solutions of the topological massive gravity equations.