• Accepted Paper

Nonlinear evolution of the spin-2 black hole superradiant instability

Taillte May and William E. East

Phys. Rev. D - Accepted 4 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/fn7l-qxbc

Abstract

Massive spin-2 fields, which arise in proposed extensions of the standard model of particle physics and general relativity, give rise to a superradiant instability around spinning black holes. We study the nonlinear evolution of this instability in quadratic gravity, where quadratic curvature terms are added to the Einstein-Hilbert action. In this theory, we find that as the massive spin-2 field grows, the black hole’s spin increases, accelerating the growth rate, and eventually leading to a superextremal horizon. This sharply contrasts with the spin-down and eventual saturation that occurs due to the backreaction of the superradiant instability of a minimally coupled massive spin-0 or spin-1 field.

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