Does scalar field collapse produce `zero mass' black holes?

TL;DR

This paper presents an exact family of scalar field collapse solutions demonstrating critical behavior and power-law mass scaling near black hole formation, providing insights into the nature of zero-mass black holes.

Contribution

It introduces a new family of solutions for scalar field collapse that exhibit critical phenomena and power-law mass scaling, advancing understanding of black hole formation.

Findings

Black hole mass scales as |lpha - lpha_crit|^{1/2} near criticality

Solutions exhibit critical behavior similar to Choptuik's findings

Comments on conjectures related to zero-mass black holes

Abstract

An exact one parameter ($\alpha$) family of solutions representing scalar field collapse is presented. These solutions exhibit a type of critical behaviour which has been discussed by Choptuik. The three possible evolutions are outlined. For supercritical evolution (when black holes form) I show that a quantity related to the mass of the black hole exhibits a power law dependence on $\alpha$, for near critical evolution $M \simeq |\alpha-\alpha_{\rm crit}|^{1/2}$. Based on the properties of the solution some comments are also made on conjectures of Choptuik.