Curvature conditions for generalized singularity theorems

Abstract

We study the curvature conditions introduced in [Class. Quant. Grav. 27, 152002] to predict focal points for trapped spacelike submanifolds in spacetimes of arbitrary dimensions, with the purpose of generalizing Penrose's singularity theorem to compact trapped submanifolds (CTMs) of codimension higher than two. We find that these conditions do not apply in general but may apply for specific CTMs. As a result, higher codimension CTMs may still work as singularity predictors, although the possibility that they intersect the domain of outer communications cannot be ruled out using standard arguments.