Miens of the three-dimensional black hole.

Some aspects of the rotating three-dimensional Einstein\char21{}anti-de Sitter black-hole solution constructed recently by Banados, Teitelboim, and Zanelli are discussed. It is shown explicitly that this black hole represents the most general black-hole-type solution of the Einstein\char21{}anti-de Sitter theory. The interpretation of one of the integrals of motion as the spin is discussed. Its physics relies on the topological structure of the black-hole manifold, and the notion of simultaneity of spacelike-separated intervals. The relationship of the black-hole solution to string theory on a (2+1)-dimensional target space is examined, and it is shown that the black hole can be understood as a part of the full axion-dilaton gravity, realized as a WZWN \ensuremath{\sigma} model. In conclusion, the pertinence of this solution to four-dimensional black strings and topologically massive gravity is pointed out.