Dimensionally continued Oppenheimer-Snyder gravitational collapse. I - solutions in even dimensions

TL;DR

This paper investigates gravitational collapse in higher-dimensional Lovelock gravity, demonstrating that black holes form as the final state from regular dust collapse in even dimensions, extending classical results to a broader theoretical framework.

Contribution

It introduces solutions for gravitational collapse in even-dimensional restricted Lovelock gravity, showing black hole formation from regular dust in higher dimensions.

Findings

Black holes emerge as the final state of collapse in even-dimensional Lovelock gravity.

Collapse solutions extend classical general relativity results to higher dimensions.

The study connects Lovelock gravity solutions with black hole formation scenarios.

Abstract

The extension of the general relativity theory to higher dimensions, so that the field equations for the metric remain of second order, is done through the Lovelock action. This action can also be interpreted as the dimensionally continued Euler characteristics of lower dimensions. The theory has many constant coefficients apparently without any physical meaning. However, it is possible, in a natural way, to reduce to two (the cosmological and Newton's constant) these several arbitrary coefficients, yielding a restricted Lovelock gravity. In this process one separates theories in even dimensions from theories in odd dimensions. These theories have static black hole solutions. In general relativity, black holes appear as the final state of gravitational collapse. In this work, gravitational collapse of a regular dust fluid in even dimensional restricted Lovelock gravity is studied. It is found that black holes emerge as the final state for these regular initial conditions.