Thermo--inertial bouncing of a relativistic collapsing sphere: A numerical model

TL;DR

This paper introduces a numerical model demonstrating that a relativistic collapsing sphere can bounce due to a decrease in inertial mass density, leading to a reversal of collapse under realistic conditions.

Contribution

It is the first to show how inertial mass density reduction can cause a bounce in a relativistic collapsing sphere through numerical simulation.

Findings

The model shows a bounce can occur due to inertial mass decrease.

The gravitational force term can be significantly reduced during collapse.

Collapse reversal is possible under physically reasonable conditions.

Abstract

We present a numerical model of a collapsing radiating sphere, whose boundary surface undergoes bouncing due to a decreasing of its inertial mass density (and, as expected from the equivalence principle, also of the ``gravitational'' force term) produced by the ``inertial'' term of the transport equation. This model exhibits for the first time the consequences of such an effect, and shows that under physically reasonable conditions this decreasing of the gravitational term in the dynamic equation may be large enough as to revert the collapse and produce a bouncing of the boundary surface of the sphere.