Dynamics of Bronnikov-Ellis wormhole with double-null simulation

Abstract We investigate the dynamical collapse of Bronnikov-Ellis (BE) wormhole using the double-null formalism, where its throat is characterized by the coincidence of two curves r ,u = 0 and r ,v = 0. The emission of two ingoing pulses: normal scalar and phantom fields in the wormhole spacetime reveals two distinct instability scenarios: a normal scalar field triggers gravitational collapse into a black hole where the singularity r = 0 hidden by the event horizon ( r ,u = 0 and r ,v = 0); while a phantom field drives inflationary expansion of wormhole, decoupling two asymptotic regions with the cosmological horizon ( r ,u = 0 and r ,v = 0). The process of two scenarios can be accelerated by increasing the amplitude of pulses but can be delayed by increasing the wormhole's mass. Additionally, the collisions of two identical pulses from ingoing and outgoing null directions in the massless BE wormhole fail to cure the instabilities because the two scenarios can still occur, but the formation of a black hole can be delayed for the collision of normal and phantom fields. Interestingly, the strategic tuning of emission timing for outgoing phantom field to collide with ingoing normal scalar field can temporarily stabilize the wormhole throat by restoring the coincidence of r ,u and r ,v again after their separation. This offers us valuable insights into extending the lifetime of a traversable wormhole.