Searching for violations of the no-hair theorem (NHT) is a powerful way to test gravity, and more generally fundamental physics, particularly with regards to the existence of additional scalar fields. The first observation of a black hole (BH) shadow by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has opened a new direct window onto tests of gravity in the strong-field regime, including probes of violations of the NHT. We consider two scenarios described by the Einstein-Maxwell equations of General Relativity and electromagnetism, to which we add a scalar field. In the first case we consider a minimally-coupled scalar field with a potential, whereas in the second case the field is conformally-coupled to curvature. In both scenarios we construct charged BH solutions, which are found to carry primary scalar hair. We then compute the shadows cast by these two BHs as a function of their electric charge and scalar hair parameter. Comparing these shadows to the shadow of M87* recently imaged by the EHT collaboration, we set constraints on the amount of scalar hair carried by these two BHs. The conformally-coupled case admits a regime for the hair parameter, compatible with EHT constraints, describing a so-called mutated Reissner-Nordström BH: this solution was recently found to effectively mimic a wormhole. Our work provides novel constraints on fundamental physics, and in particular on violations of the no-hair theorem and the existence of additional scalar fields, from the shadow of M87*.
Recently, various examples of asymptotically flat, rotating black holes (BHs) with synchronized hair have been explicitly constructed, including Kerr BHs with scalar or Proca hair, and Myers-Perry BHs with scalar hair and a mass gap, showing there is a general mechanism at work. All these solutions have been found numerically, integrating the fully non-linear field equations of motion from the event horizon outwards. Here, we address the spacetime geometry of these solutions inside the event horizon. Firstly, we provide arguments, within linear theory, that there is no regular inner horizon fo…
We establish a no inner-horizon theorem for black holes with charged scalar hairs. Considering a general gravitational theory with a charged scalar field, we prove that there exists no inner Cauchy horizon for both spherical and planar black holes with non-trivial scalar hair. The hairy black holes approach to a spacelike singularity at late interior time. This result is independent of the form of scalar potentials as well as the asymptotic boundary of spacetimes. We prove that the geometry near the singularity takes a universal Kasner form when the kinetic term of the scalar hair dominates, w…
The membrane paradigm posits that black hole microstates are dynamical degrees of freedom associated with a physical membrane vanishingly close to the black hole's event horizon. The soft hair paradigm postulates that black holes can be equipped with zero-energy charges associated with residual diffeomorphisms that label near horizon degrees of freedom. In this essay we argue that the latter paradigm implies the former. More specifically, we exploit suitable near horizon boundary conditions that lead to an algebra of `soft hair charges' containing infinite copies of the Heisenberg algebra, ass…
Properties of the horizon mass of hairy black holes are discussed with emphasis on certain subtle and initially unexpected features. A key property suggests that hairy black holes may be regarded as `bound states' of ordinary black holes without hair and colored solitons. This model is then used to predict the qualitative behavior of the horizon properties of hairy black holes, to provide a physical `explanation' of their instability and to put qualitative constraints on the end point configurations that result from this instability. The available numerical calculations support these predictio…
In a recent paper, Hod started a study on no scalar hair theorem for asymptotically flat spherically symmetric neutral horizonless reflecting compact stars. In fact, Hod's approach only rules out massive scalar fields. In the present paper, for massless scalar fields outside neutral horizonless reflecting compact stars, we provide a rigorous mathematical proof on no hair theorem. We show that asymptotically flat spherically symmetric neutral horizonless reflecting compact stars cannot support exterior massless scalar field hairs.
We study no-hair theorem for horizonless objects, being subject to Neumann boundary conditions. For massive scalar fields, a no hair theorem for Neumann compact stars was proved by us in a previous paper, where the nonzero scalar field mass condition is essential in the proof. In the present work, for massless scalar fields, we prove a no hair theorem, which claims that bound-state massless static scalar fields cannot exist outside asymptotically flat horizonless neutral Neumann compact stars.
We investigate the possibility of having hairs on the cosmological horizon. The cosmological horizon shares similar properties of black hole horizons in the aspect of having hairs on the horizons. For those theories admitting haired black hole solutions, the nontrivial matter fields may reach and extend beyond the cosmological horizon. For Q-stars and boson stars, the matter fields cannot reach the cosmological horizon. The no short hair conjecture keeps valid, despite the asymptotic behavior (de Sitter or anti-de Sitter) of black hole solutions. We prove the no scalar hair theorem for anti-de…
We prove a no Cauchy horizon theorem for general nonlinear electrodynamics black holes with charged scalar hairs. By constructing a radially conserved charged, we show that there is no inner Cauchy horizon for both spherical and planar symmetric cases, independent of the form of scalar potential and nonlinear electrodynamics. After imposing the null energy condition, we are also able to rule out the existence of the Cauchy horizon for the hyperbolic black holes. We take the Born-Infeld black hole as a concrete example to study the interior dynamics beyond the event horizon. When the contributi…
The horizon structure and thermodynamics of hairy spherically symmetric black holes generated by the gravitational decoupling method are carefully investigated. The temperature and heat capacity of the black hole is determined, as well as how the hairy parameters affect the thermodynamics. It allows the analysis of the thermal stability and the possible existence of a remanent black hole. We also calculate the Hawking radiation corrected by the generalized uncertainty principle. For such we consider the emission of fermions and apply the tunneling method to the generalized Dirac equation. It s…
We explore the spacetime structure near non-extremal horizons in any spacetime dimension greater than two and discover a wealth of novel results: 1. Different boundary conditions are specified by a functional of the dynamical variables, describing inequivalent interactions at the horizon with a thermal bath. 2. The near horizon algebra of a set of boundary conditions, labeled by a parameter $s$, is given by the semi-direct sum of diffeomorphisms at the horizon with "spin-$s$ supertranslations". For $s=1$ we obtain the first explicit near horizon realization of the Bondi-Metzner-Sachs algebra. …
We study the zeroth law for Killing horizon in scalar-hairy Lovelock gravity, and show that the surface gravity of a general Killing horizon in the scalar-hairy Lovelock gravity is constant, provided that the dominant energy condition is obeyed by the matter field.
We study the horizon geometry of Kerr black holes (BHs) with scalar synchronised hair, a family of solutions of the Einstein-Klein-Gordon system that continuously connects to vacuum Kerr BHs. We identify the region in parameter space wherein a global isometric embedding in Euclidean 3-space, $\mathbb{E}^3$, is possible for the horizon geometry of the hairy BHs. For the Kerr case, such embedding is possible iff the horizon dimensionless spin $j_H$ (which equals the total dimensionless spin, $j$), the sphericity $\mathfrak{s}$ and the horizon linear velocity $v_H$ are smaller than critical value…
An exact hairy asymptotically locally AdS black hole solution with a flat horizon in the Einstein-nonlinear sigma model system in (3+1) dimensions is constructed. The ansatz for the nonlinear $SU(2)$ field is regular everywhere and depends explicitly on Killing coordinates, but in such a way that its energy-momentum tensor is compatible with a metric with Killing fields. The solution is characterized by a discrete parameter which has neither topological nor Noether charge associated with it and therefore represents a hair. A $U(1)$ gauge field interacting with Einstein gravity can also be incl…
We develop a unified framework for the construction of soft dressings at boundaries of spacetime, such as the null infinity of Minkowski spacetime and the horizon of a Schwarzschild black hole. The construction is based on an old proposal of Mandelstam for quantizing QED and considers matter fields dressed by Wilson lines. Along time-like paths, the Wilson lines puncturing the boundary are the analogs of flat space Faddeev-Kulish dressings. We focus on the Schwarzschild black hole where our framework provides a quantum-field-theoretical perspective of the Hawking-Perry-Strominger viewpoint tha…
We study the near horizon geometry of both static and stationary extremal Oliva Tempo Troncoso (OTT) black holes. For each of these cases, a set of consistent asymptotic conditions is introduced. The canonical generator for the static configuration is shown to be regular. For the rotating OTT black hole, the asymptotic symmetry is described by the time reparametrization, the chiral Virasoro and centrally extended $u(1)$ Kac-Moody algebras.
We provide the first explicit proposal for all microstates of generic black holes in three dimensions (of Banados-Teitelboim-Zanelli-type): black hole microstates, termed "horizon fluffs", are a particular class of near horizon soft hairs which have zero energy as measured by the horizon observer and cannot be distinguished by observers at finite distance from the horizon. These states are arranged in orbits of the two-dimensional conformal algebra associated with the asymptotic black hole geometry. We count these microstates using the Hardy-Ramanujan formula for the number of partitions of a …
We demonstrate within the quantum field theoretical framework that an asymptotic particle falling into the black hole implants soft graviton hair on the horizon, conforming with the classical proposal of Hawking, Perry and Strominger. A key ingredient to this result is the construction of gravitational Wilson line dressings of an infalling scalar field, carrying a definite horizon supertranslation charge. It is shown that a typical Schwarzschild state is degenerate, and can be labeled by different soft supertranslation hairs parametrized for radial trajectories by the mass and energy of the in…
Recently, a no inner (Cauchy) horizon theorem for static black holes with non-trivial scalar hairs has been proved in Einstein-Maxwell-scalar theories. In this paper, we extend the theorem to the static black holes in Einstein-Maxwell-Horndeski theories. We study the black hole interior geometry for some exact solutions and find that the spacetime has a (space-like) curvature singularity where the black hole mass gets an extremum and the Hawking temperature vanishes. We discuss further extensions of the theorem, including general Horndeski theories from disformal transformations.
After introducing the gravitational decoupling method and the hairy black hole recently derived from it, we investigate the formation of quantum hairy black holes by applying the horizon quantum mechanics formalism. It enables us to determine how external fields, characterized by hairy parameters, affect the probability of spherically symmetric black hole formation and the generalized uncertainty principle.
We present a new family of topological charged hairy black hole solutions in asymptotically AdS space in $D$-dimensions. We solve the coupled Einstein-Maxwell-Scalar gravity system and obtain exact charged hairy black hole solutions with planar, spherical and hyperbolic horizon topologies. The scalar field is regular everywhere. We discuss the thermodynamics of the hairy black hole and find drastic changes in its thermodynamic structure due to the scalar field. For the case of planar and spherical horizons, we find charged hairy/RN-AdS black hole phase transition, with thermodynamically prefer…
It is shown that the conserved charges on the event horizon and the Cauchy horizon associated to scalar perturbations on extremal black holes are externally measurable from null infinity. This suggests that these charges have the potential to serve as an observational signature. The proof of this result is based on obtaining precise late-time asymptotics for the radiation field of outgoing perturbations.
We study the existence and nature of Aretakis "hair" and its potentially observable imprint at a finite distance from the horizon (Ori-coefficient) in near-extremal black hole backgrounds. Specifically, we consider the time evolution of horizon penetrating scalar and gravitational perturbations with compact support on near-extremal Reissner-Nordstrom (NERN) and Kerr (NEK). We do this by numerically solving the Teukolsky equation and determining the Aretakis charge values on the horizon and at a finite distance from the black hole. We demonstrate that these values are no longer strictly conserv…
East and Pretorius (arXiv:1704.04791) have successfully evolved, using fully non-linear numerical simulations, the superradiant instability of the Kerr black hole (BH) triggered by a massive, complex vector field. Evolutions terminate in stationary states of a vector field condensate synchronised with a rotating BH horizon. We show these end points are fundamental states of Kerr BHs with synchronised Proca hair. Motivated by the "experimental data" from these simulations we suggest a universal (i.e. field-spin independent), analytic model for the subset of BHs with sychronised hair that posses…
We present a family of solutions of Einstein's gravity minimally coupled to a complex, massive scalar field, describing asymptotically flat, spinning black holes with scalar hair and a regular horizon. These hairy black holes (HBHs) are supported by rotation and have no static limit. Besides mass M and angular momentum J, they carry a conserved, continuous Noether charge Q measuring the scalar hair. HBHs branch off from the Kerr metric at the threshold of the superradiant instability and reduce to spinning boson stars in the limit of vanishing horizon area. They overlap with Kerr black holes f…
The recently introduced Isolated Horizons (IH) formalism has become a powerful tool for realistic black hole physics. In particular, it generalizes the zeroth and first laws of black hole mechanics in terms of quasi-local quantities and serves as a starting point for quantum entropy calculations. In this note we consider theories which admit hair, and analyze some new results that the IH provides, when considering solitons and stationary solutions. Furthermore, the IH formalism allows to state uniqueness conjectures (i.e. horizon `no-hair conjectures') for the existence of solutions.
We show that the gravitational phase space for the near-horizon region of a bifurcate, axisymmetric Killing horizon in any dimension admits a 2D conformal symmetry algebra with central charges proportional to the area. This extends the construction of [Haco et. al., JHEP 12, 098 (2018)] to generic Killing horizons appearing in solutions of Einstein's equations, and motivates a holographic description in terms of a 2D conformal field theory. The Cardy entropy in such a field theory agrees with the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the horizon, suggesting a microscopic interpretation.
We construct static axially symmetric black holes in SU(2) Einstein-Yang-Mills-Higgs theory. Located in between a monopole-antimonopole pair, these black holes possess magnetic dipole hair. The difference of their mass and their horizon mass equals the mass of the regular monopole-antimonopole solution, as expected from the isolated horizon framework.
The simplicity of black holes, as characterized by no-hair theorems, is one of the most important mathematical results in the framework of general relativity. Are these theorems unique to black hole spacetimes, or do they also constrain the geometry around regions of spacetime with arbitrarily large (although finite) redshift? This paper presents a systematic study of this question and illustrates that no-hair theorems are not restricted to spacetimes with event horizons but are instead characteristic of spacetimes with deep enough gravitational wells, extending Israel's theorem to static spac…
Thanks to the release of the extraordinary EHT image of shadow attributed to the M87* supermassive black hole (SMBH), we have a novel window to assess the validity of fundamental physics in the strong-field regime. Motivated by this, we consider Johannsen \& Psaltis metric parameterized by mass, spin, and an additional dimensionless hair parameter $ε$. This parametric framework in the high rotation regimes provides a well-behaved bed to the strong-gravity test of the no-hair theorem (NHT) using the EHT data. Incorporating the $ε$ into the standard Kerr spacetime enrich it in the sense that, de…
We investigate whether supertranslation symmetry may appear in a scenario that involves black holes in AdS space. The framework we consider is massive 3D gravity, which admits a rich black hole phase space, including stationary AdS black holes with softly decaying hair. We consider a set of asymptotic conditions that permits such decaying near the boundary, and which, in addition to the local conformal symmetry, is preserved by an extra local current. The corresponding algebra of diffeomorphisms consists of two copies of Virasoro algebra in semi-direct sum with an infinite-dimensional Abelian …
We present new planar dyonic black hole solutions of the ${\mathfrak {su}}(N)$ Einstein-Yang-Mills equations in asymptotically anti-de Sitter space-time, focussing on ${\mathfrak {su}}(2)$ and ${\mathfrak {su}}(3)$ gauge groups. The magnetic part of the gauge field forms a condensate close to the planar event horizon. We compare the free energy of a non-Abelian hairy black hole with that of an embedded Reissner-Nordström-anti-de Sitter (RN-AdS) black hole having the same Hawking temperature and electric charge. We find that the hairy black holes have lower free energy. We present evidence that…
Recently, the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration has reported the first image of the supermassive black hole Sagittarius in the Galactic Center. We attempt to test the validity of the no-hair theorem of black holes using this new shadow observation. Considering the Einstein-Maxwell-klein-Gordon theory with a minimally-coupled scalar field, we find that our numerical result is consistent with the prediction of the no-hair theorem. However, we can not rule out the possibility that black holes with scalar hair may exist in some special cases.
Three-dimensional Einstein gravity with negative cosmological constant admits stationary black holes that are not necessarily spherically symmetric. We propose boundary conditions for the near horizon region of these black holes that lead to a surprisingly simple near horizon symmetry algebra consisting of two affine u(1) current algebras. The symmetry algebra is essentially equivalent to the Heisenberg algebra. The associated charges give a specific example of "soft hair" on the horizon, as defined by Hawking, Perry and Strominger. We show that soft hair does not contribute to the Bekenstein-…
We study the Einstein-Euler-Heisenberg theory in the presence of a self interacting scalar field, minimally coupled to gravity. We solve analytically the field equations for the magnetically charged case and we obtain novel magnetically charged hairy black holes. The scalar field dresses the black hole with a secondary scalar hair. The hairy black hole develops three horizons when Euler-Heisenberg parameter and the magnetic charge are small and the horizon radius is getting large when the scalar charge and the gravitational mass are large. The presence of matter and the magnetic field outside …
The Isolated Horizons (IH) formalism, together with a simple phenomenological model for colored black holes has been used to predict non-trivial formulae that relate the ADM mass of the solitons and hairy Black Holes of Gravity-Matter system on the one hand, and several horizon properties of the black holes in the other. In this article, the IH formalism is tested numerically for spherically symmetric solutions to an Einstein-Higgs system where hairy black holes were recently found to exist. It is shown that the mass formulae still hold and that, by appropriately extending the current model, o…
We provide a remarkably compact proof that spherically symmetric neutral black holes cannot support static nonminimally coupled massless scalar fields. The theorem is based on causality restrictions imposed on the energy-momentum tensor of the fields near the regular black-hole horizon.
The extreme Reissner-Nordström solution has a discrete conformal isometry that maps the future event horizon to future null infinity and vice versa, the Couch-Torrence inversion isometry. We study the dynamics of a probe Maxwell field on the extreme Reissner-Nordström solution in light of this symmetry. We present a gauge fixing that is compatible with the inversion symmetry. The gauge fixing allows us to relate the gauge parameter at the future horizon to future null infinity, which further allows us to study global charges for large gauge symmetries in the exterior of the extreme Reissner-No…
We construct hairy black hole solutions that merge with the anti-de Sitter (AdS$_4$) Reissner-Nordström black hole at the onset of superradiance. These hairy black holes have, for a given mass and charge, higher entropy than the corresponding AdS$_4$-Reissner-Nordström black hole. Therefore, they are natural candidates for the endpoint of the charged superradiant instability. On the other hand, hairy black holes never dominate the canonical and grand-canonical ensembles. The zero-horizon radius of the hairy black holes is a soliton (i.e. a boson star under a gauge transformation). We construct…
No-hair theorems for scalar-tensor theories imply that the trivial scalar field configuration is the unique configuration around stationary black hole spacetimes. The most basic assumption in these theorems is that a constant scalar configuration is actually admissible. In this paper, we classify shift-symmetric Horndeski theories according to whether or not they admit the trivial scalar configuration as a solution and under which conditions. Local Lorentz symmetry and the presence of a linear coupling between the scalar field and Gauss-Bonnet invariant plays feature prominently in this classi…
In this paper, we consider the Klein-Gordon equation in a 3D charged rotating hairy black hole background to study behavior of a massive scalar field. In the general case we find periodic-like behavior for the scalar field which may be vanishes at the black hole horizon or far from the black hole horizon. For the special cases of non-rotating or near horizon approximation we find radial solution of Klein-Gordon equation in terms of hypergeometric and Kummer functions. Also for the case of uncharged black hole we find numerical solution of the Klein-Gordon equation as periodic function which ma…
There exist well-known no-hair theorems forbidding the existence of hairy black hole solutions in general relativity coupled to a scalar conformal field theory in asymptotically flat space. Even in the presence of cosmological constant, where no-hair theorems can usually be circumvented and black holes with conformal scalar hair were shown to exist in dimensions three and four, no-go results were reported for D>4. In this paper we prove that these obstructions can be evaded and we answer in the affirmative a question that remained open: Whether hairy black holes do exist in general relativity …
The Bekenstein-Hawking entropy for certain BPS-saturated black holes in string theory has recently been derived by counting internal black hole microstates at weak coupling. We argue that the black hole microstate can be measured by interference experiments even in the strong coupling region where there is clearly an event horizon. Extracting information which is naively behind the event horizon is possible due to the existence of statistical quantum hair carried by the black hole. This quantum hair arises from the arbitrarily large number of discrete gauge symmetries present in string theory.
Using backwards ray tracing, we study the shadows of Kerr black holes with scalar hair (KBHsSH). KBHsSH interpolate continuously between Kerr BHs and boson stars (BSs), so we start by investigating the lensing of light due to BSs. Moving from the weak to the strong gravity region, BSs - which by themselves have no shadows - are classified, according to the lensing produced, as: $(i)$ non-compact, which yield no multiple images; $(ii)$ compact, which produce an increasing number of Einstein rings and multiple images of the whole celestial sphere; $(iii)$ ultra-compact, which possess light rings…
Light bending by the strong gravity around the black hole will form the so-called black hole shadow, the shape of which can shed light on the structure of the near-horizon geometry to possibly reveal novel physics of strong gravity and black hole. In this work, we adopt both analytical and ray-tracing methods to study the black hole shadow in the presence of the infrared structure of gravity theory, which manifests the asymptotic symmetries of spacetime as the supertranslation soft hairs of the black hole. Though the black hole metrics with and without the soft hair are related by large gauge …
We examine the geometry near the event horizon of a family of black string solutions with traveling waves. It has previously been shown that the metric is continuous there. Contrary to expectations, we find that the geometry is not smooth, and the horizon becomes singular whenever a wave is present. Both five dimensional and six dimensional black strings are considered with similar results.
We discuss BMS supertranslations both at null-infinity and on the horizon for the case of the Schwarzschild black hole. We show that both kinds of supertranslations lead to infinetly many gapless physical excitations. On this basis we construct a quotient algebra using suited superpositions of both kinds of transformations which cannot be compensated by an ordinary BMS-supertranslation and therefore are intrinsically due to the presence of an event horizon. We show that these quotient transformations are physical and generate gapless excitations on the horizon that can account for the gravitat…
The black hole in the center of the Milky Way, Sgr A*, has the largest mass-to-distance ratio among all known black holes in the Universe. This property makes Sgr A* the optimal target for testing the gravitational no-hair theorem. In the near future, major developments in instrumentation will provide the tools for high-precision studies of its spacetime via observations of relativistic effects in stellar orbits, in the timing of pulsars, and in horizon-scale images of its accretion flow. We explore here the prospect of measuring the properties of the black-hole spacetime using all these three…
Static, charged black holes in the presence of a negative cosmological constant and with a planar horizon are found in four dimensions. The solutions have scalar secondary hair. We claim that these constitute the planar version of the Martinez-Troncoso-Zanelli black holes, only known up to now for a curved event horizon in four dimensions. Their planar version is rendered possible due to the presence of two, equal and homogeneously distributed, axionic charges dressing the flat horizon. The solutions are presented in the conformal and minimal frame and their basic properties and thermodynamics…
We discuss the idea of black hole complementarity, recently suggested by Susskind et al., and the notion of stretched horizon, in the light of the generalized uncertainty principle of quantum gravity. We discuss implications for the no-hair theorem and we show that within this approach quantum hair arises naturally.
We study the interior of a recently constructed family of asymptotically flat, charged black holes that develop (charged) scalar hair as one increases their charge at fixed mass. Inside the horizon, these black holes resemble the interior of a holographic superconductor. There are analogs of the Josephson oscillations of the scalar field, and the final Kasner singularity depends very sensitively on the black hole parameters near the onset of the instability. In an Appendix, we give a general argument that Cauchy horizons cannot exist in a large class of stationary black holes with scalar hair.
In [1] the horizon fluffs proposal is put forward to identify microstates of generic non-extremal three-dimensional Banados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black holes. The proposal is that black hole microstates, which were dubbed as horizon fluffs, are states labelled by the conserved charges associated with non-trivial diffeomorphisms on the near horizon geometry and these states are not in the coadjoint orbits of the asymptotic Virasoro algebra at the Brown-Henneaux central charge, associated with the BTZ black holes. It is also known that AdS3 Einstein gravity has more general black hole solutio…
