Hoop Conjecture and the Horizon Formation Cross-Section in Kaluza-Klein Spacetimes

Abstract

We analyze momentarily static initial data sets of the gravitational field produced by two-point sources in five-dimensional Kaluza-Klein spacetimes. These initial data sets are characterized by the mass, the separation of sources and the size of a extra dimension. Using these initial data sets, we discuss the condition for black hole formation, and propose a new conjecture which is a hybrid of the four-dimensional hoop conjecture and the five-dimensional hyperhoop conjecture. By using the new conjecture, we estimate the cross section of black hole formation due to collisions of particles in Kaluza-Klein spacetimes. We show that the mass dependence of the cross section gives us information about the size and the number of the compactified extra dimensions.