The Gregory–Laflamme instability
Abstract
This paper reviews the Gregory–Laflamme instability in higher-dimensional general relativity. This is an linear instability, which grows exponentially, that arises when a black hole is sufficiently extended in one direction to support a long wavelength perturbation. When tracked into the nonlinear regime there is evidence to suggest that this instability gives rise to a violation of the weak cosmic censorship conjecture. The focus of this paper is on how this instability afflicts the Schwarzschild black string and other vacuum black hole solutions.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Black Holes and Theoretical Physics
Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
Publication details
- Journal / source
- International Journal of Modern Physics A
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 12
- Publication date
- 13 February 2026
- Language
- EN