Marginally trapped tubes and dynamical horizons

Abstract

We investigate the generic behaviour of marginally trapped tubes (roughly time-evolved apparent horizons) using simple, spherically symmetric examples of dust and scalar field collapse/accretion onto pre-existing black holes. We find that given appropriate physical conditions the evolution of the marginally trapped tube may be either null, timelike, or spacelike and further that the marginally trapped two-sphere cross-sections may either expand or contract in area. Spacelike expansions occur when the matter falling into a black hole satisfies ρ − P ⩽ 1/A, where A is the area of the horizon while ρ and P are respectively the density and pressure of the matter. Timelike evolutions occur when (ρ − P) is greater than this cut-off and so would be expected to be more common for large black holes. Physically they correspond to horizon ‘jumps’ as extreme conditions force the formation of new horizons outside the old.