Related papers: Like Black holes, Buchdahl stars cannot be extrema…
We derive a modified Buchdahl inequality for scalar-tensor theories of gravity. In general relativity, Buchdahl has shown that the maximum value of the mass-to-size ratio, $2M/R$, is 8/9 for static and spherically symmetric stars under some…
We investigate new paths to black hole formation by considering the general relativistic evolution of a differentially rotating polytrope with toroidal shape. We find that this polytrope is unstable to nonaxisymmetric modes, which leads to…
I rederive the Kerr/CFT correspondence without first taking the near-horizon extremal Kerr limit. This method extends easily to nonextremal black holes, for which the temperature and central charge behave poorly at the horizon but the…
Using sophisticated string theory calculations, Maldacena and Susskind have intriguingly shown that near-extremal black holes are characterized by a {\it finite} mass gap above the corresponding zero-temperature (extremal) black-hole…
While extreme black hole spacetimes with smooth horizons are known at the level of mathematics, we argue that the horizons of physical extreme black holes are effectively singular. Test particles encounter a singularity the moment they…
A new solution for the endpoint of gravitational collapse is proposed. By extending the concept of Bose-Einstein condensation to gravitational systems, a cold, compact object with an interior de Sitter condensate phase and an exterior…
We find that if general relativity is modified at the Planck scale by a Ricci-squared term, electrically charged black holes may be nonsingular. These objects concentrate their mass in a microscopic sphere of radius $r_{core}\approx…
Following Rosen's quantization rules, two of the Authors (CC and FF) recently described the Schwarzschild black hole (BH) formed after the gravitational collapse of a pressureless "star of dust" in terms of a "gravitational hydrogen atom".…
We obtain the $\epsilon<2$ new extremal ground states of a two-dimensional (2D) charged black hole where $\epsilon$ is the dilaton coupling parameter for the Maxwell term. The stability analysis is carried out for all these extremal black…
It is often stated in the physics literature that maximally-spinning Kerr black-hole spacetimes are characterized by near-horizon co-rotating circular geodesics of radius $r_{\text{circular}}$ with the property $r_{\text{circular}}\to…
We consider a gravitating system consisting of a scalar field minimally coupled to gravity with a self-interacting potential and an U(1) electromagnetic field. Solving the coupled Einstein-Maxwell-scalar system we find exact hairy charged…
We consider the steady-state density and velocity dispersion profiles of collisionless matter around a Schwarzschild black hole (BH) and its associated rate of accretion onto the BH. We treat matter, which could be stars or dark matter…
The Weak Gravity Conjecture arises from the assertion that all extremal black holes, even those which are "classical" in the sense of being very massive, must decay by quantum-mechanical emission of particles or smaller black holes. This is…
A modified version of the Reissner-Nordstrom metric is proposed on the grounds of the nonlinear electrodynamics model. The source of curvature is an anisotropic fluid with $p_{r} = -\rho$ which resembles the Maxwell stress tensor at $r >>…
In general relativity, isolated black holes are invisible due to an infinitely large redshift of photons propagating from the event horizon to the remote observer. However, the dark shadow (silhouette) of a black hole can be visible on the…
We present a new non-BPS solution describing an asymptotically flat, stationary, bi-axisymmetric capped black hole in the bosonic sector of five-dimensional minimal supergravity. This solution describes a spherical black hole, while the…
In this chapter I focus on asking and answering the following questions: (1) What is a black hole? Answer: There are three types of black holes, namely mathematical black holes, physical black holes and astrophysical black holes. An…
As a consequence of Birkhoff's theorem, the exterior gravitational field of a spherically symmetric star or black hole is always given by the Schwarzschild metric. In contrast, the exterior gravitational field of a rotating (axisymmetric)…
At about 70 solar masses, the recently-discovered dark object orbited by a B-type star in the system LB-1 is difficult to understand as the end point of standard stellar evolution, except as a binary black hole (BBH). LB-1 shows a strong,…
We study properties of particles with zero or negative energy and a nonzero orbital angular momentum in the ergosphere of a rotating black hole. We show that the sign of the particle energy is uniquely determined by the angular velocity of…