Test bodies and naked singularities: is the self-force the cosmic censor?

Area of Science:

• General Relativity
• Black Hole Physics
• Gravitational Dynamics

Background:

• Rotating black holes are described by the Kerr metric.
• The extremal limit defines a boundary for black hole properties.
• The cosmic censorship conjecture posits that singularities are always hidden within black holes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether rotating black holes can be spun up past the extremal limit by capturing nonspinning test bodies.
• To determine if such an event would violate the cosmic censorship conjecture.
• To analyze the role of radiative and self-force effects in preventing or allowing the formation of naked singularities.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of black hole dynamics under test body capture.
• Examination of specific trajectories leading to potential naked singularities.
• Inclusion of radiative and conservative self-force effects in the theoretical model.

Main Results:

• For certain trajectories, radiative effects can be neglected.
• The conservative self-force is significant for these specific orbits.
• The self-force appears to act against the formation of naked singularities.

Conclusions:

• The formation of naked singularities by spinning up black holes past the extremal limit may be prevented by self-force effects.
• The cosmic censorship conjecture remains robust in these scenarios.
• Further investigation into self-force effects is crucial for understanding black hole physics.