Schwarzschild black hole revisited: Before the complete collapse

TL;DR

This paper investigates the interior structure of Schwarzschild black holes before collapse, proposing complex source models and regular solutions as alternatives to classical black holes, to test general relativity in high-curvature regimes.

Contribution

It introduces new inner geometries for black holes that match the Schwarzschild exterior and explores regular solutions as potential final states of collapse.

Findings

Compatible complex sources for black holes

Regular solutions as collapse endpoints

Potential tests of general relativity in high curvature

Abstract

Within the framework of general relativity, we explore the interior of the Schwarzschild black hole before complete collapse occurs, finding that the exterior is perfectly compatible with a source much more complex than a pointlike mass. We provide a set of inner geometries for singular and regular black holes that smoothly joint the Schwarzschild exterior at the horizon $r=h=2{\cal M}$, and which can therefore be regarded as suitable initial conditions for collapse. In particular, the regular solutions might be an alternative to the Schwarzschild black hole as the final stage of gravitational collapse, and thus useful to study the validity of general relativity in environments of high curvature.