General nonextremal rotating black holes in minimal five-dimensional gauged supergravity

We construct the general solution for nonextremal charged rotating black holes in five-dimensional minimal gauged supergravity. They are characterized by four nontrivial parameters: namely, the mass, the charge, and the two independent rotation parameters. The metrics in general describe regular rotating black holes, providing the parameters lie in appropriate ranges so that naked singularities and closed timelike curves (CTCs) are avoided. We calculate the conserved energy, angular momenta, and charge for the solutions, and show how supersymmetric solutions arise in a Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield limit. These have naked CTCs in general, but for special choices of the parameters we obtain new regular supersymmetric black holes or smooth topological solitons.     

Scalar hairy black holes and solitons in a gravitating Goldstone model

We study black hole solutions of Einstein gravity coupled to a specific global symmetry breaking Goldstone model described by an O(3) isovector scalar field in four spacetime dimensions. Our configurations are static and spherically symmetric, approaching at infinity a Minkowski spacetime background. A set of globally regular, particle-like solutions are found in the limit of vanishing event horizon radius. These configurations can be viewed as ‘regularised’ global monopoles, since their mass is finite and the spacetime geometry has no deficit angle. As an unusual feature, we notice the existence of extremal black holes in this model defined in terms of gravity and scalar fields only.     

Horizonless,singularity-free,compact shells satisfying NEC

Gravitational collapse singularities are undesirable, yet inevitable to a large extent in General Relativity. When matter satisfying null energy condition (NEC) collapses to the extent a closed trapped surface is formed, a singularity is inevitable according to Penrose’s singularity theorem. Since positive mass vacuum solutions are generally black holes with trapped surfaces inside the event horizon, matter cannot collapse to an arbitrarily small size without generating a singularity. However, in modified theories of gravity where positive mass vacuum solutions are naked singularities with no trapped surfaces, it is reasonable to expect that matter can collapse to an arbitrarily small size without generating a singularity. Here we examine this possibility in the context of a modified theory of gravity with torsion in an extra dimension. We study singularity-free static shell solutions to evaluate the validity of NEC on the shell. We find that with sufficiently high pressure, matter can be collapsed to arbitrarily small size without violating NEC and without producing a singularity.     

Topological Aspects of Entropy and Phase Transition of Kerr Black Holest

In the light of topological current and the relationship between the entropy and the Euler characteristic, the topological aspects of entropy and phase transition of Kerr black holes are studied. From Gauss-Bonnet-Chern theorem, it is shown that the entropy of Kerr black holes is determined by the singularities of the Killing vector field of spacetime. By calculating the Hopf indices and Brouwer degrees of the Killing vector field at the singularities, the entropy S = A/4 for nonextreme Kerr black holes and S = 0 for extreme ones are obtained, respectively. It is also discussed that, with the change of the ratio of mass to angular momentum for unit mass, the Euler characteristic and the entropy of Kerr black holes will change discontinuously when the singularities on Cauchy horizon merge with the singularities on event horizon, which will lead to the first-order phase transition of Kerr black holes.     

Topological Aspects of Entropy and Phase Transition of Kerr Black Holes

In the light of topological current and the relationship between the entropy and the Euler characteristic, the topological aspects of entropy and phase transition of Kerr black holes are studied. From Gauss-Bonnet-Chern theorem,it is shown that the entropy of Kerr black holes is determined by the singularities of the Killing vector field of spacetime.By calculating the Hopf indices and Brouwer degrees of the Killing vector field at the singularities, the entropy S = A/4for nonextreme Kerr black holes and S = 0 for extreme ones are obtained, respectively. It is also discussed that, with the change of the ratio of mass to angular momentum for unit mass, the Euler characteristic and the entropy of Kerr black holes will change discontinuously when the singularities on Cauchy horizon merge with the singularities on event horizon, which will lead to the first-order phase transition of Kerr black holes.     

Observers in Kerr spacetimes: the ergoregion on the equatorial plane

We perform a detailed analysis of the properties of stationary observers located on the equatorial plane of the ergosphere in a Kerr spacetime, including light-surfaces. This study highlights crucial differences between black hole and the super-spinner sources. In the case of Kerr naked singularities, the results allow us to distinguish between “weak” and “strong ” singularities, corresponding to spin values close to or distant from the limiting case of extreme black holes, respectively. We derive important limiting angular frequencies for naked singularities. We especially study very weak singularities as resulting from the spin variation of black holes. We also explore the main properties of zero angular momentum observers for different classes of black hole and naked singularity spacetimes.     

Gravitational collapse: The story so far

An outstanding problem in gravitation theory and relativistic astrophysics today is to understand the final outcome of an endless gravitational collapse. Such a continual collapse would take place when stars more massive than few times the mass of the sun collapse under their own gravity on exhausting their nuclear fuel. According to the general theory of relativity, this results either in a black hole, or a naked singularity — which can communicate with far away observers in the universe. While black holes are (almost) being detected and are increasingly used to model high energy astrophysical phenomena, naked singularities have turned into a topic of active discussion, aimed at understanding their structure and implications. Recent developments here are reviewed, indicating future directions.     

On the collisions between particles in the vicinity of rotating black holes

Scattering of particles in the gravitational field of rotating black holes is considered. It is shown that scattering energy of particles in the centre of mass system can obtain very large values not only for extremal black holes but also for nonextremal ones. Extraction of energy after the collision is investigated. It is shown that due to the Penrose process the energy of the particle escaping the hole at infinity can be large. Contradictions in the problem of getting high energetic particles escaping the black hole are resolved.     

黑洞与奇点

黑洞可以说是引力最极端的体现，其视界内是个连光也逃不出去的时空区域。近来黑洞在天 文观测方面取得令人惊讶的发展，这其中包括：黑洞碰撞的引力波探测以及M87 星系的超大质量 黑洞的所谓第一张黑洞照片。但是在理论的层面上，黑洞物理尚有许多未解之谜。其中，信息遗失 的悖论是最有名的。但是，有另一个问题至少和信息的丢失一样{甚至更加{令人费解的，就是黑洞 内部的奇点性质。时空奇点是广义相对论本身无法描述的，在那里究竟发生什么事？黑洞内部的奇 点和宇宙大爆炸时的奇点有何不同？奇点是否会裸露在黑洞外面？所谓“宇宙监督猜想”的假设目 前有何进展？我们在这篇半科普的文章中简单的介绍这些课题，希望本文章对物理和数学的本科生 有所帮助。     

Exact self-gravitating N-body motion in the CGHS model

In the asymptotically flat two-dimensional dilaton gravity, we present an N-body particle action which has a dilaton coupled mass term for the exact solubility. This gives nonperturbative exact solutions for the N-body self-gravitating system, so the infalling particles form a black hole and their trajectories are exactly described. In our two-dimensional case, the critical mass for the formation of black holes does not exist, so even a single particle forms a black hole. The infalling particles give additional time-like singularities in addition to the space-like black hole singularity. However, the latter singularities can be properly cloaked by the future horizons within some conditions.     

Exact self-gravitating N-body motion in the CGHS model

In the asymptotically flat two-dimensional dilaton gravity, we present an N-body particle action which has a dilaton coupled mass term for the exact solubility. This gives nonperturbative exact solutions for the N-body self-gravitating system, so the infalling particles form a black hole and their trajectories are exactly described. In our two-dimensional case, the critical mass for the formation of black holes does not exist, so even a single particle forms a black hole. The infalling particles give additional time-like singularities in addition to the space-like black hole singularity. However, the latter singularities can be properly cloaked by the future horizons within some conditions.     

Gravitational collapse with decaying vacuum energy

The effect of dark energy on the end state of spherical radiation collapse is considered within the context of the cosmic censorship hypothesis. It is found that it is possible to have both black holes as well as naked singularities.     

Modified regular black holes with time delay and 1-loop quantum correction

We develop the regular black hole solutions by incorporating the 1-loop quantum correction to the Newton potential and a time delay between an observer at the regular center and one at infinity. We define the maximal time delay between the center and the infinity by scanning the mass of black holes such that the sub-Planckian feature of the Kretschmann scalar curvature is preserved during the process of evaporation. We also compare the distinct behavior of the Kretschmann curvature for black holes with asymptotically Minkowski cores and those with asymptotically de-Sitter cores, including Bardeen and Hayward black holes. We expect that such regular black holes may provide more information about the construction of effective metrics for Planck stars.     

Distinguishing between Kerr and rotating JNW space-times via frame dragging and tidal effects

We investigate two physical quantities that might observationally distinguish between Kerr black holes and rotating naked singularities. These are the Lense–Thirring precession frequency as measured by a Copernican observer, and tidal forces. We establish strong enhancement for both these quantities due to a Janis–Newman–Winicour naked singularity background, as compared to the Kerr case. We first show that the precession frequency of a test gyroscope at a given radius can be enhanced by almost an order of magnitude in the background of the naked singularity, as compared to the Kerr black hole. We then show that a critical mass for celestial objects below which these disintegrate due to tidal forces might increase by more than an order of magnitude in the naked singularity background, compared to the black hole. Our results complement the existing ones in the literature regarding differences in observable quantities in such backgrounds, and might be of significance in futuristic experiments.     

Antigravitating black hole solitons with scalar hair in N=4 supergravity

We present some new solutions of the equations of the N=4 supergravity theory which represent black holes with scalar, electric and magnetic charges. The solutions are parameterized by the mass and 6 electric and 6 magnetic charges which can be assembled into a complex 6-vector, Z^N. One can act on the solutions with SO(6)×U(1) to obtain new solutions with the same mass M but charges Z^N related by SO(6)×U(1) transformations, the U(1) factor corresponding to the duality subgroup of the hidden SU(1, 1) ssymetry of the N=4 model. In a certain limiting case the black holes have zero temperature and behave like solitons. In this case multisoliton solutions are exhibited which antigravitate, i.e. are in static equilibrium. We also present some solutions of the Kaluza-Klein theory which were anticipated by Scherk which also antigravitate. However, these latter solutions contain naked singularities. A discussion is also given of the relation of these solutions to dimensional reduction which has relevance for the black holes in the N=8 supergravity theory.     

Quantum gravity at spatial infinity?

The nonquantum treatment of the gravitational field equations at spatial infinity yields formal solutions, one-half of which lend themselves readily to a physical interpretation in terms of gravitational fields in space-time, whereas the other half involve unacceptable singularities when extended to approach light-like infinity. The quantization of the field equations at spatial infinity formally is straightforward, the Hamiltonian being purely quadratic in the canonical field variables, but the discard of half of the classical solutions produces serious difficulties in the quantum version, for which a possible remedy is tentatively proposed.     

Acceleration of particles in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton black holes

It has recently been pointed out that, under certain conditions, the energy of particles accelerated by black holes in the center-of-mass frame can become arbitrarily high. In this paper, we study the collision of two particles in the case of four-dimensional charged nonrotating, extremal charged rotating and near-extremal charged rotating Kaluza-Klein black holes as well as the naked singularity case in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory. We find that the center-of-mass energy for a pair of colliding particles is unlimited at the horizon of charged nonrotating Kaluza-Klein black holes, extremal charged rotating Kaluza-Klein black holes and in the naked singularity case.     

Letter: Self-Similar Collapse of Scalar Field with Plane Symmetry

Plane symmetric self-similar solutions to Einstein's four-dimensional theory of gravity are studied and all such solutions are given analytically in closed form. The local and global properties of these solutions are investigated and it is shown that some of the solutions can be interpreted as representing gravitational collapse of the scalar field. During the collapse, trapped surfaces are never developed. As a result, no black hole is formed. Although the collapse always ends with spacetime singularities, it is found that these singularities are spacelike and not naked.     

Magnetic charge,black holes,and cosmic censorship

The possibility of converting a Reissner-Nordström black hole into a naked singularity by means of test particle accretion is considered. The dually charged Reissner-Nordström metric describes a black hole only when M² > Q³ + P². The test particle equations of motion are shown to allow test particles with arbitrarily large magnetic charge/mass ratios to fall radially into electrically charged black holes. To determine the nature of the final state (black hole or naked singularity) an exact solution of Einstein's equations representing a spherical shell of magnetically charged dust falling into an electrically charged black hole is studied. Naked singularities are never formed so long as the weak energy condition is obeyed by the infalling matter. The differences between the spherical shell model and an infalling point test particle are examined and discussed.     

Floating and sinking: the imprint of massive scalars around rotating black holes

We study the coupling of massive scalar fields to matter in orbit around rotating black holes. It is generally expected that orbiting bodies will lose energy in gravitational waves, slowly inspiraling into the black hole. Instead, we show that the coupling of the field to matter leads to a surprising effect: because of superradiance, matter can hover into "floating orbits" for which the net gravitational energy loss at infinity is entirely provided by the black hole's rotational energy. Orbiting bodies remain floating until they extract sufficient angular momentum from the black hole, or until perturbations or nonlinear effects disrupt the orbit. For slowly rotating and nonrotating black holes floating orbits are unlikely to exist, but resonances at orbital frequencies corresponding to quasibound states of the scalar field can speed up the inspiral, so that the orbiting body sinks. These effects could be a smoking gun of deviations from general relativity.