Possible Instability in the Self-closure Phenomenon in Gravitational Collapse

Abstract

PRESENT ideas on the nature of relativistic collapse are largely derived from the study of spherisymmetric models, the only ones readily accessible to mathematical analysis. The most striking feature of spherical collapse—the formation of a critical surface (“event horizon”), characterized by infinite gravitational red-shift, which divorces the collapsing object from the external observer—is believed also to typify realistic situations, at least if the asymmetries are not too large. The purpose of this communication is to point out that, on the contrary, models with exact spherical symmetry possess idiosyncrasies which render them dangerous, and perhaps misleading, as a basis for induction.