Can a naked singularity be formed during the gravitational collapse of a Janis-Newman-Winicour solution?

Abstract

The Janis-Newman-Winicour (JNW) spacetime possesses a naked singularity, although it represents an exact particle-like solution to the Einstein-Klein-Gordon theory with a massless scalar field. Here, we investigate the possible formation of a naked singularity in the JNW spacetime, using the thin-shell approximation to describe the gravitational collapse. By introducing different matter contents to construct thin-shells, we demonstrate the impossibility of naked singularity formation during the gravitational collapse unless the causality or null energy condition of the thin-shell is violated. Therefore, the weak cosmic censorship is satisfied even with the naked singularity of the JNW spacetime.