Related papers: Horizons
We discuss black hole spacetimes with a geometrically defined quasi-local horizon on which the curvature tensor is algebraically special relative to the alignment classification. Based on many examples and analytical results, we conjecture…
The gravitational force harbours a fundamental instability against collapse. In standard General Relativity without Quantum Mechanics, this implies the existence of black holes as natural, stable solutions of Einstein's equations. If one…
Black holes are often characterized by event horizons, following the literature that laid the mathematical foundations of the subject in the 1970s. However black hole event horizons have two fundamental conceptual limitations. First, they…
A general definition of a black hole is given, and general `laws of black-hole dynamics' derived. The definition involves something similar to an apparent horizon, a trapping horizon, defined as a hypersurface foliated by marginal surfaces…
Black hole horizons in equilibrium and null infinity of asymptotically flat space-times are null 3-manifolds but have very different physical connotations. We first show that they share a large number of geometric properties, making them…
Horizons of black holes or cosmologies are peculiar loci of spacetime where interesting physical effects takes place, some of which are probed by recent (EHT and LIGO) and future experiments (ET and LISA). We discuss that there are boundary…
Black and white holes play remarkably contrasting roles in general relativity versus observational astrophysics. While there is overwhelming observational evidence for the existence of compact objects that are "cold, dark, and heavy", which…
Black holes have the peculiar and intriguing property of having an event horizon, a one-way membrane causally separating their internal region from the rest of the Universe. Today astrophysical observations provide some evidence for the…
The requirement that a trapped spacetime domain forms in finite time for distant observers is logically possible and sometimes unavoidable, but its consequences are not yet fully understood. In spherical symmetry, the characterization of…
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…
It is known that the event horizon of a black hole can often be identified from the zeroes of some curvature invariants. The situation in lower dimensions has not been thoroughly clarified. In this work we investigate both (2+1)- and…
Smooth spacetimes possessing a (global) one-parameter group of isometries and an associated Killing horizon in Einstein's theory of gravity are investigated. No assumption concerning the asymptotic structure is made, thereby, the selected…
Lorentz-violating gravity theories with a preferred foliation can have instantaneous propagation. Nonetheless, it has been shown that black holes can still exist in such theories and the relevant notion of an event horizon has been dubbed…
We discuss some of the drawbacks of using event horizons to define black holes. The reasons are both practical, physical and theoretical. We argue that locally defined trapping horizons can remedy many of these drawbacks. We examine of the…
We develop a framework that facilitates the study of the causal structure of spacetimes with a causally preferred foliation. Such spacetimes may arise as solutions of Lorentz-violating theories, e.g. Horava gravity. Our framework allows us…
All near horizon geometries of supersymmetric black holes in a N=2, D=5 higher-derivative supergravity theory are classified. Depending on the choice of near-horizon data we find that either there are no regular horizons, or horizons exist…
We prove that if S is a time-oriented null hypersurface of a Lorentzian n-manifold (M, g), the causal world-lines, which intersect transversally S and are time-oriented in a compatible way, cross the hypersurface all in the same direction,…
Event Horizon, a null hypersurface defining the boundary of the black hole region of a spacetime, is not particularly useful for evolving black holes since it is non-local in time. Instead, one uses the more tangible concept of Apparent…
The classic black hole mechanics and thermodynamics are formulated for stationary black holes with event horizons. Alternative theories of gravity of interest for cosmology contain a built-in time-dependent cosmological "constant" and black…
The horizon is a classical concept that arises in general relativity, and is therefore not clearly defined when the source cannot be reliably described by classical physics. To any (sufficiently) localised quantum mechanical wave-function,…