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Phys. Rev. D 66, 084010 (2002) [7 pages]

Fate of singularities and horizons in higher derivative gravity

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Bob Holdom*
Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A7

Received 2 July 2002; published 16 October 2002

We study static spherically symmetric solutions of high derivative gravity theories, with 4, 6, 8 and even 10 derivatives. Except for isolated points in the space of theories with more than 4 derivatives, only solutions that are nonsingular near the origin are found. But these solutions cannot smooth out the Schwarzschild singularity without the appearance of a second horizon. This conundrum, and the possibility of singularities at finite r, leads us to study numerical solutions of theories truncated at four derivatives. Rather than two horizons we are led to the suggestion that the original horizon is replaced by a rapid nonsingular transition from weak to strong gravity. We also consider this possibility for the de Sitter horizon.

© 2002 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevD.66.084010
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevD.66.084010
PACS:
04.20.Cv, 04.20.Dw

*Electronic address: bob.holdom@utoronto.ca