Related papers: Physical observability of horizons
General relativity has achieved remarkable experimental and observational success. Critically, recent data from the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA, Event Horizon Telescope, and GRAVITY collaborations are often credited with \textit{demonstrating} the…
Trapped regions bounded by horizons are the defining features of black holes. However, formation of a singularity-free apparent horizon in finite time of a distant observer is consistent only with special states of geometry and matter in…
The impressive images from the Event Horizon Telescope sharpen the conflict between our observations of gravitational phenomena and the principles of quantum mechanics. Two related scenarios for reconciling quantum mechanics with the…
It is well-known that the Riemann curvature tensor has no discontinuity at the black hole horizon. It is also well-known that a freely falling observer takes finite time to reach the horizon from an outside point. However, the usual…
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…
The defining characteristic of a black hole is that it possesses an event horizon through which matter and energy can fall in but from which nothing escapes. Soft X-ray transients (SXTs), a class of X-ray binaries, appear to confirm this…
Event horizons are a defining feature of black holes. Consequently, there have been many efforts to probe their existence in astrophysical black hole candidates, spanning ten orders of magnitude in mass. Nevertheless, horizons remain an…
Cosmic horizons arise in general relativity in the context of black holes and in certain cosmologies. Classically, regions beyond a horizon are inaccessible to causal observers. However, quantum mechanical correlations may exist across…
Black hole horizon is usually defined as the limit for existence of timelike worldline or when a spatially bound surface turns oneway (it is crossable only in one direction). It would be insightful and physically appealing to find its…
A major issue in general relativity and blackhole physics today is to determine the conditions when the spacetime singularities forming as end-states of gravitational collapse are visible to external observers, and when these are hidden…
It is shown that an exactly static and spherically symmetric black hole event horizon cannot be embedded in a time-dependent geometry. Forcing it to do so results in a naked null singularity at the would-be horizon. Therefore, since the…
In four dimensions the topology of the event horizon of an asymptotically flat stationary black hole is uniquely determined to be the two-sphere $S^2$. We consider the topology of event horizons in higher dimensions. First, we reconsider…
Black holes are among the most well-known astrophysical objects, yet their physical realisation remains conceptually subtle. We analyse physical black holes -- light-trapping regions that form in finite time as seen by a distant observer --…
We numerically investigate the formation of D-dimensional black holes in high-energy particle collision with the impact parameter and evaluate the total cross section of the black hole production. We find that the formation of an apparent…
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…
Classically, black holes are compact objects with perfect semi-permeable horizons: Anything may enter, nothing may leave. We consider an axiomatic approach that applies to any black hole type, including arbitrarily near-extremal black…
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 presumed to have an ideal ability to absorb and keep matter. Whatever comes close to the event horizon, a boundary separating the inside region of a black hole from the outside world, inevitably goes in and remains inside…
Quite recently, some new mathematical approaches to black holes have appeared in the literature. They do not rely on the classical concept of event horizon -- which is very global, but on the local concept of hypersurfaces foliated by…
Black holes play a pivotal role in the foundations of physics, but there is an alarming discrepancy between what is considered to be a black hole in observational astronomy and theoretical studies. Despite claims to the contrary, we argue…