Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: This Letter investigates gravitational-wave tests of the horizon area law. Although they provide a striking consistency check of general relativity (GR), these tests rely on models that assume GR, making their interpretation inherently model dependent. We show with a specific example---simulations of merging boson stars---that exotic compact objects can mimic merging black holes and pass an area-law test at a confidence as high as $\sim 92\%$ despite not even having event horizons.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Vangstein, Selma, Moore, Christopher J.
Institution: University of Cambridge
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: UK Research and Innovation
OpenAlex ID: W7224125806