Trapped surface formation for the Einstein-Scalar system

Abstract: We consider the formation of trapped surfaces in the evolution of the Einstein-scalar field system without symmetries. To this end, we follow An's strategy to analyse the formation of trapped surfaces in vacuum and for the Einstein-Maxwell system. Accordingly, we set up a characteristic initial value problem (CIVP) for the Einstein-Scalar system with initial data given on two intersecting null hypersurfaces such that on the incoming slince the data is Minkowskian whereas on the outgoing side no symmetries are assumed. We obtain a scale-critical semi-global existence result by assigning a signature for decay rates to both the geometric quantities and the scalar field. The analysis makes use of a gauge due to J. Stewart and an adjustment of the Geroch-Held-Penrose (GHP) formalism, the T-weight formalism, which renders the connection between the Newman-Penrose (NP) quantities and the PDE analysis systematic and transparent.