2025/11/17 by Ho-Cheol Lee, Lee, Hocheol, Bogeun Gwak +1
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) #High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th) #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2511.13086
openalex publication_date 2025/11/17 · openalex created_date 2025/11/19 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) offers a fundamental test of spacetime structure. However, its behavior in higher-dimensional black holes influenced by anisotropic energy-momentum tensors remains insufficiently explored. In this work, we investigate the upper bound of the ISCO in higher-dimensional, static, spherically symmetric, and asymptotically flat black hole spacetimes in the presence of an anisotropic energy-momentum tensor. The energy-momentum tensor is assumed to satisfy the weak energy condition, possess a non-positive trace, and obey constraints on radial and tangential pressures, collectively equivalent to the dominant energy condition with additional constraints. By analyzing the effective potential for timelike geodesics and imposing ISCO conditions, we demonstrate the general absence of an upper bound on the ISCO radius in higher-dimensional spacetimes. For dimensions greater than or equal to eight, an ISCO may not exist, depending on the radial and tangential components of the energy-momentum tensor. If an ISCO exists, its radius remains unbounded. These findings advance our understanding of orbital stability in higher-dimensional gravitational systems and highlight fundamental differences from four-dimensional black hole dynamics.