Multi-localized time-symmetric initial data for the Einstein vacuum equations

We construct a class of time-symmetric initial data sets for the Einstein vacuum equations modeling elementary configurations of multiple almost isolated systems. Each such initial data set consists of a collection of several localized sources of gravitational radiation, and lies in a family of data sets which is closed under scaling out the distances between the systems by arbitrarily large amounts. This class contains data sets which are not asymptotically flat, but to which nonetheless a finite ADM mass can be ascribed. The construction proceeds by a gluing scheme using the Brill-Lindquist metric as a template. Such initial data are motivated in part by a desire to understand the dynamical interaction of distant systems in the context of general relativity. As a by-product of the construction, we produce families of complete, scalar-flat initial data with trivial topology and infinitely many minimal spheres, as well as families of initial data with infinitely many Einstein-Rosen bridges.