Fields tell matter how to move

Abstract

Starting from the Oppenheimer-Snyder solution for gravitational collapse, we show by putting it into the harmonic coordinates, for which the distant Riemann metric is galilean, that the final state of collapse for a collapsed star of any mass, including the one thought to occupy the centre of our galaxy, has a finite radius roughly equal to its Schwarzschild radius. By applying an expression for the gravitational energy tensor, we are able to explain the concentration of stellar material in a thin shell close to the surface, which gives an explanation for why such a star does not undergo further collapse to a black hole. The interior of the star is characterized by a low density of the original stellar material, but, far from being empty, this region is occupied by a very high density of gravitational energy; this density is negative and the consequent repulsion is what produces the surface concentration of stellar material.