We report some new interesting features of the dynamics of a string axion field (i.e., a (pseudo-)scalar field with tiny mass with sine-Gordon-type self-interaction) around a rotating black hole in three respects. First, we revisit the calculation of
the growth rate of superradiant instability, and show that in some cases, overtone modes have larger growth rates than the fundamental mode with the same angular quantum numbers when the black hole is rapidly rotating. Next, we study the dynamical evolution of the scalar field caused by the nonlinear self-interaction, taking attention to the dependence of the dynamical phenomena on the axion mass and the modes. The cases in which two superradiantly unstable modes are excited simultaneously are also studied. Finally, we report on our preliminary simulations for gravitational wave emission from the dynamical axion cloud in the Schwarzschild background approximation. Our result suggests that fairly strong gravitational wave burst is emitted during the bosenova, which could be detected by the ground-based detectors if it happens in Our Galaxy or nearby galaxies.
The geodesic equation in the five-dimensional singly rotating black ring is non-integrable unlike the case of the Myers-Perry black hole. In the Newtonian limit of the black ring, its geodesic equation agrees with the equation of motion of a particle
in the Newtonian potential due to a homogeneous ring gravitational source. In this paper, we show that the Newtonian equation of motion allows the separation of variables in the spheroidal coordinates, providing an non-trivial constant of motion quadratic in momenta. This shows that the Newtonian limit of a black ring recovers the symmetry of its geodesic system, and the geodesic chaos is caused by relativistic effects.
Motivated by possible existence of stringy axions with ultralight mass, we study the behavior of an axion field around a rapidly rotating black hole (BH) obeying the sine-Gordon equation by numerical simulations. Due to superradiant instability, the
axion field extracts the rotational energy of the BH and the nonlinear self-interaction becomes important as the field grows larger. We present clear numerical evidences that the nonlinear effect leads to a collapse of the axion cloud and a subsequent explosive phenomena, which is analogous to the bosenova observed in experiments of Bose-Einstein condensate. The criterion for the onset of the bosenova collapse is given. We also discuss the reason why the bosenova happens by constructing an effective theory of a wavepacket model under the nonrelativistic approximation.
String theory/M-theory generally predicts that axionic fields with a broad mass spectrum extending below 10^{-10}eV are produced after compactification to four dimensions. These axions/fields provoke a rich variety of cosmophysical phenomena on diffe
rent scales depending on their masses and provide us new windows to probe the ultimate theory. In this article, after overviewing this axiverse idea, I take up the black hole instability as the most fascinating one among such axionic phenomena and explain its physical mechanism and astrophysical predictions.
We study the method for generating the initial data of black hole systems in Gauss-Bonnet (GB) gravity. The initial data are assumed to be momentarily static and conformally flat. Although the equation for the conformal factor is highly nonlinear, it
is successfully solved by numerical relaxation for one-black-hole and two-black-hole systems. The common apparent horizon is studied in the two-black-hole initial data, and the result suggests that the Penrose inequalities are satisfied in this system. This is the first step for simulating black hole collisions in higher-curvature theories.
We study the foliation of a $D$-dimensional spherically symmetric black-hole spacetime with $Dge 5$ by two kinds of one-parameter family of maximal hypersurfaces: a reflection-symmetric foliation with respect to the wormhole slot and a stationary fol
iation that has an infinitely long trumpet-like shape. As in the four-dimensional case, the foliations by the maximal hypersurfaces have the singularity avoidance nature irrespective of dimensionality. This indicates that the maximal slicing condition will be useful for simulating higher-dimensional black-hole spacetimes in numerical relativity. For the case of D=5, we present analytic solutions of the intrinsic metric, the extrinsic curvature, the lapse function, and the shift vector for the foliation by the stationary maximal hypersurfaces. This data will be useful for checking five-dimensional numerical relativity codes based on the moving puncture approach.
