• DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.121102
• Corpus ID: 14319117

On the Penrose inequality for general horizons.

@article{Malec2002OnTP,
  title={On the Penrose inequality for general horizons.},
  author={Edward J Malec and Marc Mars and Walter Simon},
  journal={Physical review letters},
  year={2002},
  volume={88 12},
  pages={
          121102
        }
}

• E. Malec, M. Mars, W. Simon
• Published 8 January 2002
• Mathematics
• Physical review letters

For asymptotically flat initial data of Einstein's equations satisfying an energy condition, we show that the Penrose inequality holds between the Arnowitt-Deser-Misner mass and the area of an outermost apparent horizon, if the data are suitably restricted. We prove this by generalizing Geroch's proof of monotonicity of the Hawking mass under a smooth inverse mean curvature flow, for data with non-negative Ricci scalar. Unlike Geroch we need not confine ourselves to minimal surfaces as horizons. Leaving smoothness issues aside, we also show that our restrictions on the data can be locally fulfilled by a suitable choice of the initial surface in a given spacetime.