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  • Open Access

Tidal disruption in topological solitons and the emergence of an effective horizon

Pierre Heidmann* and Gela Patashuri†

  • Department of Physics and Center for Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics (CCAPP), The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA

  • *Contact author: heidmann.5@osu.edu
  • †Contact author: patashuri.1@osu.edu
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Phys. Rev. D 112, 066020 – Published 26 September, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/k1br-81hm

Abstract

We compute the dynamics of particles and strings falling into smooth horizonless spacetimes that match the Schwarzschild black hole but replace its horizon with a smooth cap in supergravity. The cap consists of a regular topological structure formed by the deformations of extra compact dimensions. We show that infalling particles follow Schwarzschild-like trajectories down to the cap, but experience rapidly growing tidal forces that reach extreme values. In addition, infalling strings encounter a region of tidal instability localized at the cap, where transverse modes are excited. This stringy excitation drains their kinetic energy, resulting in tidal trapping. We demonstrate that the onset and strength of this instability depend sensitively on the Kaluza-Klein scale, the string scale, and the mass of the spacetime, ensuring that strings cannot escape the cap region. These results show that horizonless geometries can reproduce key features of black hole absorption while maintaining regularity at the horizon scale, offering compelling evidence for the emergence of effective horizonlike behavior from topological spacetime structures.

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Phys. Rev. D 112, 066020– Published 26 September, 2025
  • Received 24 June 2025
  • Accepted 5 September 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

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