Trapped surface as a cosmic censor
We formulate a local geometric criterion for weak cosmic censorship in black hole overcharging and overspinning thought experiments. Under the null convergence and generic conditions, matter injection turns a horizon cross section into a closed trapped surface. Any final spacetime unable to accommodate this surface is ruled out. This trapped surface criterion excludes superextremal Reissner-Nordström, Reissner-Nordström-de Sitter, and Kerr-Newman final states, as well as Weyl-class naked singularities. Our criterion does not rely on asymptotic charges or on an extremal condition characterizing naked singularities.
Authors
- Daisuke Yoshida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8424-8828)
- Hideo Furugori (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7633-2429)
- Kaho Yoshimura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7131-0723)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
- Published
- 2026-11-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/vltf-1bh9
- Primary Topic
- Black Holes and Theoretical Physics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science