Gravitational Collapse with Heat Flux and Gravitational Waves

In this paper, we investigated the cylindrical gravitational collapse with heat flux by considering the appropriate geometry of the interior and exterior spacetimes. For this purpose, we matched collapsing fluid to an exterior containing gravitational waves.The effects of heat flux on gravitational collapse are investigated and matched with the results obtained by Herrera and Santos (Class. Quantum Gravity 22:2407, 2005).     

Instability of black hole formation under small pressure perturbations

We investigate here the spectrum of gravitational collapse endstates when arbitrarily small perfect fluid pressures are introduced in the classic black hole formation scenario as described by Oppenheimer, Snyder and Datt (OSD) (Oppenheimer and Snyder in Phys Rev 56:455, 1939; Datt in Zs f Phys 108:314, 1938). This extends a previous result on tangential pressures (Joshi and Malafarina Phys Rev D 83:024009, 2011) to the physically more realistic scenario of perfect fluid collapse. The existence of classes of pressure perturbations is shown explicitly, which has the property that injecting any smallest pressure changes the final fate of the dynamical collapse from a black hole to a naked singularity. It is therefore seen that any smallest neighborhood of the OSD model, in the space of initial data, contains collapse evolutions that go to a naked singularity outcome. This gives an intriguing insight on the nature of naked singularity formation in gravitational collapse.     

Gravity,energy conservation,and parameter values in collapse models

We interpret the probability rule of the CSL collapse theory to mean to mean that the scalar field which causes collapse is the gravitational curvature scalar with two sources, the expectation value of the mass density (smeared over the GRW scale a) and a white noise fluctuating source. We examine two models of the fluctuating source, monopole fluctuations and dipole fluctuations, and show that these correspond to two well-known CSL models. We relate the two GRW parameters of CSL to fundamental constants, and we explain the energy increase of particles due to collapse as arising from the loss of vacuum gravitational energy.     

Can quantum gravitational forces stop gravitational collapse?

We consider, in lowest order of the gravitational coupling constant G, the gravitational potential between two neutrons. As we have previously pointed out [1],the quantum (including spin) contributions to the gravitational field dominate for distances smaller than the Compton wavelength of the neutron. At such distances the gravitational force between two neutrons may be repulsive. In particular, the gravitational forces which are analogous to the familiar Darwin and Fermi forces of quantum electrodynamics are capable of stopping gravitational collapse. Our discussion is within the framework of Einstein's theory, but on a microscopic level. We conclude that gravitational collapse may be halted without the necessity of extending Einstein's theory à la Cartan or otherwise.     

On the genericity of spacetime singularities

We consider here the genericity aspects of spacetime singularities that occur in cosmology and in gravitational collapse. The singularity theorems (that predict the occurrence of singularities in general relativity) allow the singularities of gravitational collapse to be either visible to external observers or covered by an event horizon of gravity. It is shown that the visible singularities that develop as final states of spherical collapse are generic. Some consequences of this fact are discussed.      

On the way towards a nonsingular gravitational collapse-the properties of the Yang-Mills cosmos

Adding gravitational self-interaction to general relativity in an intrinsic way changes drastically the behavior of a physical system under gravitational collapse. In our analysis of this question for homogeneous and isotropic matter distributions we show that (i) theSO(1,3) gauge theory of gravity of the Yang-Mills type has the correct Newtonian limit for the late universe, (ii) it defines intrinsically a dynamical gravitational stressenergy-momentum tensorG T _ab , and (iii) negative self-energy always prevents homogeneous and isotropic matter from forming a big-bang singularity; if the present universe disposes of a positive self-energy, pair creation on the eve of the lepton era generates sufficient gravity to stop the fatal collapse.This essay received an honorable mention (1977) from the Gravity Research Foundation-Ed.Research fellow of Schweizerischer Nationalfonds.     

Gravitational collapse of dark energy field configurations and supermassive black hole formation

Dark energy is the dominant component of the total energy density of our Universe. The primary interaction of dark energy with the rest of the Universe is gravitational. It is therefore important to understand the gravitational dynamics of dark energy. Since dark energy is a low-energy phenomenon from the perspective of particle physics and field theory, a fundamental approach based on fields in curved space should be sufficient to understand the current dynamics of dark energy. Here, we take a field theory approach to dark energy. We discuss the evolution equations for a generic dark energy field in curved space-time and then discuss the gravitational collapse for dark energy field configurations. We describe the 3 + 1 BSSN formalism to study the gravitational collapse of fields for any general potential for the fields and apply this formalism to models of dark energy motivated by particle physics considerations. We solve the resulting equations for the time evolution of field configurations and the dynamics of space-time. Our results show that gravitational collapse of dark energy field configurations occurs and must be considered in any complete picture of our Universe. We also demonstrate the black hole formation as a result of the gravitational collapse of the dark energy field configurations. The black holes produced by the collapse of dark energy fields are in the supermassive black hole category with the masses of these black holes being comparable to the masses of black holes at the centers of galaxies.     

Gravitational wave formation from the collapse of dark energy field configurations

Dark energy is the dominant component of the energy density in the Universe. In a previous paper, we have shown that the collapse of dark energy fields leads to the formation of supermassive black holes with masses comparable to the masses of black holes at the centers of galaxies. Thus, it becomes a pressing issue to investigate the other physical consequences of the collapse of dark energy fields. Given that the primary interactions of dark energy fields with the rest of the Universe are gravitational, it is particularly interesting to investigate the gravitational wave signals emitted during the collapse of dark energy fields. This is the focus of the current work described in this paper. We describe and use the 3+1 BSSN formalism to follow the evolution of the dark energy fields coupled with gravity and to extract the gravitational wave signals. Finally, we describe the results of our numerical computations and the gravitational wave signals produced by the collapse of dark energy fields.     

Phenomenological gravitational radiation from rotating stellar collapse to an intermediate mass Kerr black hole

Intermediate mass black holes may be formed through repeated coalescences of compact objects or through the direct collapse of a hypermassive star formed through runaway collisions of main sequence stars. The gravitational wave signature of these two formation scenarios will be different. Here we present an initial study of the waveform generated during the direct axisymmetric collapse of a hypermassive star in order to facilitate searches for this source. We approximate the collapse of the core as an axisymmetric Newtonian free-fall of a rotating relativistic degenerate iron core. The collapse waveform can be reasonably well modeled by an exponential growth.     

Gravitational collapse of phantom fluid in (2 + 1)-dimensions

In this paper, we solve Einsteins’ field equations for a circularly symmetric anisotropic fluid, with kinematic self-similarity of the first kind, in (2 + 1)-dimensional spacetimes. Considering the case where the radial pressure vanishes, we show that there exists a solution that represents the gravitational collapse of an anisotropic fluid, and the collapse will finally form a black hole, even if the fluid is constituted by phantom energy.     

Gravitational Collapse of a Spherical Star with Heat Flow as a Possible Energy Mechanism of Gamma-Ray Bursts

We investigate the gravitational collapse of a spherically symmetric, inhomogeneous star, which is described by a perfect fluid with heat flow and satisfies the equation of state p=ρ/3 at its center. In the process of the gravitational collapse, the energy of the whole star is emitted into space. And the remaining spacetime is a Minkowski one without a remnant at the end of the process. For a star with a solar mass and solar radius, the total energy emitted is at the order of 10⁵⁴ erg, and the time-scale of the process is about 8 s. These are in the typical values for a gamma-ray burst. Thus, we suggest the gravitational collapse of a spherical star with heat flow as a possible energy mechanism of gamma-ray bursts.     

3D collapse of rotating stellar iron cores in general relativity including deleptonization and a nuclear equation of state

We present 2D and 3D simulations of the collapse of rotating stellar iron cores in general relativity employing a nuclear equation of state and an approximate treatment of deleptonization. We compare fully general relativistic and conformally flat evolutions and find that the latter treatment is sufficiently accurate for the core-collapse supernova problem. We focus on gravitational wave (GW) emission from rotating collapse, bounce, and early postbounce phases. Our results indicate that the GW signature of these phases is much more generic than previously estimated. We also track the growth of a nonaxisymmetric instability in one model, leading to strong narrow-band GW emission.     

Stability of a self-gravitating homogeneous resistive plasma

In this paper, we analyze the stability of a homogeneous self-gravitating plasma, having a non-zero resistivity. This study provides a generalization of the Jeans paradigm for determining the critical scale above which gravitational collapse is allowed.We start by discussing the stability of an ideal self-gravitating plasma embedded in a constant magnetic field. We outline the existence of an anisotropic feature of the gravitational collapse. In fact, while in the plane orthogonal to the magnetic field the Jeans length is enhanced by the contribution of the magnetic pressure, outside this plane perturbations are governed by the usual Jeans criterion. The anisotropic collapse of a density contrast is sketched in detail, suggesting that the linear evolution provides anisotropic initial conditions for the non-linear stage, where this effect could be strongly enforced.The same problem is then faced in the presence of non-zero resistivity and the conditions for the gravitational collapse are correspondingly extended. The relevant feature emerging in this resistive scenario is the cancelation of the collapse anisotropy in weakly conducting plasmas. In this case, the instability of a self-gravitating resistive plasma is characterized by the standard isotropic Jeans length in any directions. The limit of very small resistivity coefficient is finally addressed, elucidating how reminiscence of the collapse anisotropy can be found in the different values of the perturbation frequency inside and outside the plane orthogonal to the magnetic field.     

Spherically symmetric free fall collapse

The general dynamical equations for spherical gravitational collapse are derived by introducing the eigenvalue of the conformal Weyl tensor in the 2-2 component of the Einstein tensor and assuming the material content of the models to be a perfect fluid. Since this eigenvalue is coupled always with the material energy density, it has been interpreted as theenergy density of the free gravitational field whose presence is related with anisotropy and inhomogeneity. As a particular case, the collapse of a spherically symmetric dust (zero pressure) with vanishing radial acceleration (free fall collapse) is discussed. It is shown that the model is inhomogeneous with non-vanishing shear of the congruence of world lines of the dust particles. The model contains gravitational radiation by Szekere’s criterion since both shear invariant and the spatial gradient of density are non-vanishing. This is in contrast to the Oppenheimer-Synder model for which both the above mentioned characteristics are absent. A particular solution which is anisotropic and inhomogeneous has been given to prove the emission of gravitational radiation by the freely falling dust and in this case the energy density of the free gravitational field contains a typeN term superposed on the coulombian field.     

Naked singularities in spherically symmetric gravitational collapse: A critique

One of the most important questions in the physics of gravitation phenomena is whether gravitational collapse can lead to the formation of singularities which are not hidden by an event horizon. The Cosmic Censorship Conjecture (CCC) represents the hope that such a drastic event cannot happen in realistic physical situations. However, in the recent past several counter examples to the CCC were demonstrated by several researchers in situations of spherically symmetric gravitational collapse. The disturbing aspect about these counter examples is that they are strong naked singularities—they can crush matter to zero volume and can have a disastrous influence on causal physics. We examine these counter examples for their physical content by working through the dynamical collapse of inhomogeneous dust and argue that these are not physically acceptable counter examples. Our main result is that the singularities when naked are weak and when strong, strongly censored. The strong naked singularities in the counter examples do not arise from dynamical collapse; they result from the intrinsically singular nature of the initial density distributions chosen. The CCC seems to remain robust as far as spherically symmetric collapse is concerned.     

The structure of the integral of motion for a charged body in the relativistic theory of gravitation

The energy-momentum tensor in the relativistic theory of gravitation (RTG) is calculated for the Reissner-Nordström metric. The external gravitational energy of a collapsing body is found. Based on an analysis of its behavior near a gravitational radius, it is concluded that gravitational collapse is impossible.     

Gravitational collapse of spherically symmetric stars in noncommutative general relativity

Gravitational collapse of a class of spherically symmetric stars is investigated. We quantise the geometries describing the gravitational collapse by a deformation quantisation procedure. This gives rise to noncommutative spacetimes with gravitational collapse.     

Photon Productions in a Gravitational Collapsing

We study a possible gravitational vacuum-effect, in which vacuum-energy variation is due to variation of gravitational field, vacuum state gains gravitational energy and releases it by spontaneous photon emissions. Based on the path-integral representation, we present a general formulation of vacuum transition matrix and energy-momentum tensor of a quantum scalar field theory in curved spacetime. Using analytical continuation of dimensionality of the phase space, we calculate the difference of vacuum-energy densities in the presence and absence of gravitational field. Using the dynamical equation of gravitational collapse, we compute the rate of vacuum state gaining gravitational energy. Computing the transition amplitude from initial vacuum state to final vacuum state in gravitational collapsing process, we show the rate and spectrum of spontaneous photon emissions for releasing gravitational energy. We compare our idea with the Schwinger idea for Sonoluminiescence and contrast our scenario with the Hawking effect.