Following a program on black hole nonmodal linear stability initiated in Phys. Rev. Lett. 112 (2014) 191101, we study odd linear perturbations of the Einstein-Maxwell equations around a Reissner-Nordström (A)dS black hole. We show that all the gauge invariant information in the metric and Maxwell field perturbations is encoded in the spacetime scalars F = δ(F * αβ F αβ ) and Q = δ( 1 48 C * αβγδ C αβγδ ), where C αβγδ is the Weyl tensor, F αβ the Maxwell field, a star denotes Hodge dual and δ means first order variation, and that the linearized Einstein-Maxwell equations are equivalent to a coupled system of wave equations for F and Q. For nonnegative cosmological constant we prove that F and Q are pointwise bounded on the outer static region. The fields are shown to diverge as the Cauchy horizon is approached from the inner dynamical region, providing evidence supporting strong cosmic censorship. In the asymptotically AdS case the dynamics depends on the boundary condition at the conformal timelike boundary and there are instabilities if Robin boundary conditions are chosen.

This paper is a companion of [Phys. Rev. D 95, 124041 (2017)] in which, following a program on black hole nonmodal linear stability initiated in Phys. Rev. Lett. 112 (2014) 191101, odd perturbations of the Einstein-Maxwell equations around a Reissner-Nordström (A)dS black hole were analyzed. Here we complete the proof of the nonmodal linear stability of this spacetime by analyzing the even sector of the linear perturbations. We show that all the gauge invariant information in the metric and Maxwell field even perturbations is encoded in two spacetime scalars: S, which is a gauge invariant combination of δ(C αβγǫ C αβγǫ ) and δ(C αβγδ F αβ F γδ ), and T , a gauge invariant combination of δ(∇µF αβ ∇ µ F αβ ) and δ(∇µC αβγδ ∇ µ C αβγδ ). Here C αβγδ is the Weyl tensor, F αβ the Maxwell field and δ means first order variation. We prove that S and T are are in one-one correspondence with gauge classes of even linear perturbations, and that the linearized Einstein-Maxwell equations imply that these scalar fields are pointwise bounded on the outer static region.