From black-bounce to traversable wormhole, and beyond

Abstract

Key results from the literature pertaining to a class of nonsingular black hole mimickers are explored. The family of candidate spacetimes is for now labelled the `black-bounce' family, stemming from the original so-called `Simpson--Visser' spacetime in static spherical symmetry. All model geometries are analysed through the lens of standard general relativity, are globally free from curvature singularities, pass all weak-field observational tests, and smoothly interpolate between regular black holes and traversable wormholes. The discourse is segregated along geometrical lines, with candidate spacetimes each belonging to one of: static spherical symmetry, spherical symmetry with dynamics, and stationary axisymmetry.