Nomen non est omen: Why it is too soon to identify ultra-compact objects as black holes

Sebastian Murk*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Black holes play a pivotal role in the foundations of physics, but there is an alarming discrepancy between what is considered to be a black hole in observational astronomy and theoretical studies. Despite claims to the contrary, we argue that identifying the observed astrophysical black hole candidates as genuine black holes is not justified based on the currently available observational data, and elaborate on the necessary evidence required to support such a remarkable claim. In addition, we investigate whether the predictions of semiclassical gravity are equally compatible with competing theoretical models, and find that semiclassical arguments favor horizonless configurations.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2342012
Pages (from-to)2342012-1-2342012-10
Number of pages10
JournalInternational Journal of Modern Physics D
Volume32
Issue number14
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords

  • Black holes
  • Buchdahl theorem
  • energy conditions
  • quantum aspects of black holes
  • quantum fields in curved spacetime
  • semiclassical gravity
  • ultra-compact objects

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