Related papers: The dangers of extremes
We show that extremal Kerr black holes are sensitive probes of new physics. Stringy or quantum corrections to general relativity are expected to generate higher-curvature terms in the gravitational action. We show that in the presence of…
Quantum considerations have led many theorists to believe that classical black hole physics is modified not just deep inside black holes but at {\it horizon scales}, or even further outward. The near-horizon regime has just begun to be…
We show that a semi-classical polymerization of the interior of Schwarzschild black holes gives rise to a tantalizing candidate for a non-singular, single horizon black hole spacetime. The exterior has non-zero quantum stress energy but…
Classical black holes shield us from the singularities that inevitably appear in general relativity. Being singularity regularization one of the main landmarks for a successful theory of quantum gravity, quantum black holes are not obliged…
We explore the quantum nature of black holes by introducing an effective framework that takes into account deviations from the classical results. The approach is based on introducing quantum corrections to the classical Schwarzschild…
The relative flow of the Schwarzschild vs. the proper time during the classical evolution of a collapsing shell in the Schwarzschild coordinates practically forces us to interpret black hole formation as a highly non-local quantum process…
Analyzing exact solutions of the Einstein-Maxwell equations in the Kerr-Schild formalism we show that black hole horizon is instable with respect to electromagnetic excitations. Contrary to perturbative smooth harmonic solutions, the exact…
Event horizons are the defining feature of classical black holes. They are the key ingredient of the information loss paradox which, as paradoxes in quantum foundations, is built on a combination of predictions of quantum theory and…
We investigate the geometry near the horizon of a generic, four-dimensional extremal black hole. When the cosmological constant is negative, we show that (in almost all cases) tidal forces diverge as one crosses the horizon, and this…
In this essay we argue that once quantum gravitational effects change the classical geometry of a black hole and remove the curvature singularity, the black hole would not evaporate entirely but approach a remnant. In a modified…
Recent results of quantum field theory on a curved spacetime suggest that extremal black holes are not thermal objects and that the notion of zero temperature is ill-defined for them. If this is correct, one may have to go to a full…
For distant observers black holes are trapped spacetime domains bounded by apparent horizons. We review properties of the near-horizon geometry emphasizing the consequences of two common implicit assumptions of semiclassical physics. The…
A massless scalar field exhibits an instability at the event horizon of an extreme black hole. We study numerically the nonlinear evolution of this instability for spherically symmetric perturbations of an extreme Reissner-Nordstrom (RN)…
We argue the existence of solutions of the Euclidean Einstein equations that correspond to a vortex sitting at the horizon of a black hole. We find the asymptotic behaviours, at the horizon and at infinity, of vortex solutions for the gauge…
In the last four decades different programs have been carried out aiming at understanding the final fate of gravitational collapse of massive bodies once some prescriptions for the behaviour of gravity in the strong field regime are…
The cosmic censorship conjecture posits that singularities forming to the future of a regular Cauchy surface are hidden by an event horizon. Consequently any topological structures will ultimately collapse within the horizon of a set of…
Nonextreme black hole in a cavity can achieve the extreme state with a zero surface gravity at a finite temperature on a boundary, the proper distance between the boundary and the horizon being finite. The classical geometry in this state…
Event horizons are (generically) not physically observable. In contrast, apparent horizons (and the closely related trapping horizons) are generically physically observable --- in the sense that they can be detected by observers working in…
From a purely geometric (kinematic) perspective, black holes in four dimensional spacetimes can have event horizons with arbitrary topologies. It is only when energy conditions are imposed that the horizon's topology is constrained to be…
Astrophysical black hole candidates, although long thought to have a horizon, could be horizonless ultra-compact objects. This intriguing possibility is motivated by the black hole information paradox and a plausible fundamental connection…