Dynamical evolution of unstable self-gravitating scalar solitons

TL;DR

This paper investigates the dynamical behavior of unstable self-gravitating scalar solitons, revealing that they either collapse into black holes or disperse into domain walls depending on initial conditions.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of the time evolution of these unstable scalar solitons, demonstrating their possible end states.

Findings

Unstable scalar solitons can collapse into black holes.

They can also disperse into outward moving domain walls.

The evolution depends on the initial perturbation sign.

Abstract

Recently, static and spherically symmetric configurations of globally regular self-gravitating scalar solitons were found. These configurations are unstable with respect to radial linear perturbations. In this paper we study the dynamical evolution of such configurations and show that, depending on the sign of the initial perturbation, the solitons either collapse to a Schwarzschild black hole or else ``explode'' into an outward moving domain wall.