2013/05/31 by Vitor Cardoso, Isabella P. Carucci, Paolo Pani +1 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #gr-qc #astro-ph.HE #hep-ph #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.88.044056
published as Phys.Rev. D88, 044056 (2013) · 11 pages, 3 figures. v2: published version
arxiv created 2014/01/22 · arxiv updated 2014/01/23
In electrovacuum stationary, asymptotically flat black holes in scalar-tensor theories of gravity are described by the Kerr-Newman family of solutions, just as in general relativity. We show that there exist two mechanisms which can render Kerr black holes unstable when matter is present in the vicinity of the black hole, as this induces an effective mass for the scalar. The first mechanism is a tachyonic instability that appears when the effective mass squared is negative, triggering the development of scalar hair --- a black hole version of "spontaneous scalarization". The second instability is associated with superradiance and is present when the effective mass squared is positive and when the black hole spin exceeds a certain threshold. The second mechanism is also responsible for a resonant effect in the superradiant scattering of scalar waves, with amplification factors as large as 105 or more.