Related papers: Singularities and self-similarity in gravitational…
General relativity as well as Newtonian gravity admits self-similar solutions due to its scale-invariance. This is a review on these self-similar solutions and their relevance to gravitational collapse. In particular, our attention is…
Possibilities emerging out of the dynamical evolutions of collapsing systems are addressed in this thesis through analytical investigations of the highly non-linear Einstein Field Equations. Studies of exact solutions and their properties,…
Perfect fluid with kinematic self-similarity is studied in 2+1 dimensional spacetimes with circular symmetry, and various exact solutions to the Einstein field equations are given. In particular, these include all the solutions of dust and…
Analytic spherically symmetric solutions of the Einstein field equations coupled with a perfect fluid and with self-similarities of the zeroth, first and second kinds, found recently by Benoit and Coley [Class. Quantum Grav. {\bf 15}, 2397…
We study the spherical collapse of a perfect fluid with an equation of state $P=k\rho$ by full general relativistic numerical simulations. For $0<k\alt 0.036$, it has been known that there exists a general relativistic counterpart of the…
Four-dimensional cylindrically symmetric spacetimes with homothetic self-similarity are studied in the context of Einstein's Theory of Gravity, and a class of exact solutions to the Einstein-massless scalar field equations is found. Their…
A longstanding conjecture by Belinskii, Khalatnikov, and Lifshitz that the singularity in generic gravitational collapse is spacelike, local, and oscillatory is explored analytically and numerically in spatially inhomogeneous cosmological…
The different kinds of self-similarity in general relativity are discussed, with special emphasis on similarity of the ``first'' kind, corresponding to spacetimes admitting a homothetic vector. We then survey the various classes of…
We consider the self-similar solutions associated with the critical behavior observed in the gravitational collapse of spherically symmetric perfect fluids with equation of state $p=\alpha\mu$. We identify for the first time the global…
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…
Gravitational collapse is one of the most striking phenomena in gravitational physics. The cosmic censorship conjecture has provided strong motivation for researches in this field. In the absence of general proof for the censorship, many…
We study continuously self-similar solutions of four-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory, with an arbitrary dilaton coupling. Self-similarity is an emergent symmetry of gravitational collapse near the threshold of black hole…
We consider a general non-linear sigma model coupled to Einstein gravity and show that in spherical symmetry and for a simple realization of self-similarity, the spacetime can be completely determined. We also examine some more specific…
A new class of solutions of the Einstein field equations in spherical symmetry is found. The new solutions are mathematically described as the metrics admitting separation of variables in area-radius coordinates. Physically, they describe…
We investigate self-similar scalar field solutions to the Einstein equations in whole cylinder symmetry. Imposing self-similarity on the spacetime gives rise to a set of single variable functions describing the metric. Furthermore, it is…
Critical gravitational collapse offers a unique window into regimes of arbitrarily high curvature, culminating in a naked singularity arising from smooth initial data -- thus providing a dynamical counterexample to weak cosmic censorship.…
We consider self-interacting scalar fields coupled to gravity. Two classes of exact solutions to Einstein's equations are obtained: the first class corresponds to the minimal coupling, the second one to the conformal coupling. One of the…
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…
Fine-tuning generic but smooth spherically-symmetric initial data for general relativity to the threshold of dynamical black hole formation creates arbitrarily large curvatures, mediated by a universal self-similar solution that acts as an…
We present here an overview of our basic understanding and recent developments on spacetime singularities in the Einstein theory of gravity. Several issues related to physical significance and implications of singularities are discussed.…