Thermodynamics and gravitational collapse

Abstract

It is known now that a typical gravitational collapse in general relativity, evolving from regular initial data and under physically reasonable conditions would end in either a black hole or a naked singularity final state. An important question that needs to be answered in this connection is, whether the analogues of the laws of thermodynamics, as formulated for relativistic horizons are respected by the dynamical spacetimes for collapse that end in the formation of a naked singularity. We investigate here the thermodynamical behaviour of the dynamical horizons that form in spherically symmetric gravitational collapse and we show that the first and second laws of black hole thermodynamics, as extended to dynamical spacetimes in a suitable manner, are not violated whether the collapse ends in a black hole or a naked singularity. We then make a distinction between the naked singularities that result from gravitational collapse, and those that exist in solutions of Einstein equations in vacuum axially symmetric and stationary spacetimes, and discuss their connection with thermodynamics in view of the cosmic censorship conjecture and the validity of the third law of black hole mechanics.