Radial perturbations of scalar-Gauss-Bonnet black holes beyond spontaneous scalarization

Abstract: Spontaneous scalarization of black holes in scalar-Gauss-Bonnet (sGB) gravity is a very interesting phenomenon allowing black holes to circumvent the no-hair theorem and acquire scalar hair while leaving the weak field regime of the theory practically unaltered. It was recently shown that if we allow for a different form of the coupling between the scalar field and the Gauss-Bonnet invariant, a new type of scalarization is possible beyond the standard one that can be excited only nonlinearly. In this case the spectrum of black hole solutions can be more complicated, naturally opening the question about their stability. The goal of the present paper is to study this question including the possible loss of hyperbolicity of the radial perturbation equation. We show that one of the nonlinearly scalarized phases of the Schwarzschild black hole can be stable and hyperbolic for large enough black hole masses. These results establish the studied hairy black holes as viable astrophysical candidates.