Project description
Greek research group to test singularity formation in black holes and the Big Bang
Gravitational singularities (points where density and spacetime curvature become infinite and standard laws of physics break down) are often found inside black holes and at the Big Bang. How they are formed remains one of the most important unsolved problems. The ERC-funded SINGinGR project will found a research group in Greece to address this. The group will develop novel mathematical tools to prove singularity formation in new settings and test long-standing conjectures. It aims to construct Big Bang singularities beyond the simplified symmetric and analytical cases studied so far. Furthermore, it aims to demonstrate that black hole interiors can develop spacelike singularities in scenarios outside of spherical symmetry.
Objective
One of the outstanding open mathematical problems in General Relativity is to understand how singularities form in solutions to the Einstein equations. Singularities are typically found in the interior of black holes or at the Big Bang. The main objective of this proposal is to start a research group at the University of Crete that will develop novel mathematical techniques, combining ingredients from analysis, partial differential equations, and differential geometry, which will enable us to prove the formation of singularities in various new settings and test long-standing conjectures in the field.
Dynamics of Big Bang singularities. In vacuum, the generic cosmological singularity is conjecturally spacelike, local, and oscillatory. The only rigorous evidence in favor of the latter scenario is restricted to homogeneous solutions. We intend to construct Big Bang singularities containing spikes or oscillations, without symmetries and analyticity, that test the conjectural picture. Here, previous work of the PI with J. Luk constructing Kasner-like singularities will be useful, since they are the building blocks of more complicated scenarios. We also intend to dynamically study the submanifold of Big Bang singularities having no oscillations, by advancing techniques recently developed in work of the PI and collaborators to prove stable Big Bang formation in the sub-critical regime.
The black hole interior problem. The stable phenomenon that has been observed so far in black hole regions is Cauchy horizon formation. Our goal is to show that in certain regimes, a similar situation to that of Big Bangs occurs, where part of the inner black hole boundary is spacelike and singular. We consider the Einstein-massless-scalar field system, as well as the classical Oppenheimer-Snyder dust model of gravitational collapse, for a class of initial data outside of spherical symmetry, where singularity formation has not yet been understood.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy physical cosmology big bang
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy astrophysics black holes
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics geometry
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics mathematical analysis differential equations partial differential equations
- natural sciences mathematics applied mathematics numerical analysis
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2022-STG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
700 13 IRAKLEIO
Greece
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