FCT researcher presents model that challenges current paradigm of black holes

Black holes are extremely massive and compact objects that exist in the Universe, exerting strong gravitational pull on neighboring stars and the gas disks that surround them. The effects on neighboring bodies are the only evidence for the existence of black holes, since they have never been directly observed. Black holes are thought to play a crucial role in many astrophysical processes, from the evolution of stars and galaxies to the functioning of galactic nuclei.

The current paradigm in astrophysics is that the multiple black holes existing in the Universe are described by only two physical properties: mass and angular momentum (a measure of their amount of rotation). This paradigm was summarized in 1971 by physicist John Wheeler, who stated, "Black holes have no hair"—a conjecture that has held true over the decades.

But at the University of Aveiro, physicists Carlos Herdeiro and Eugen Radu, the latter also an FCT researcher, have uncovered a mechanism that allows certain types of matter to create a new type of black hole, with "hair.".

This new type of black hole has physical properties that are very different from conventional ones, a distinction that could be confirmed by astrophysical observations of the interaction between black holes and the gas surrounding them or the stars close to them.