Inflation inside non-topological defects and scalar black holes

Abstract

In this paper, we demonstrate that a phenomenon described as "topological inflation" during which inflation occurs inside the core of topological defects, has a non-topological counterpart. This appears in a simple set-up containing Einstein gravity coupled minimally to an electromagnetic field as well as a self-interacting, complex valued scalar field. The U(1) symmetry of the model is unbroken and leads to the existence of globally regular solutions, so-called boson stars, that develop a horizon for sufficiently strong gravitational coupling. We also find that the same phenomenon exists for black holes with scalar hair.