Dynamical spontaneous scalarization in Einstein-Maxwell-scalar theory

Abstract: We study the linear instability and the nonlinear dynamical evolution of the Reissner-Nordstr\"om (RN) black hole in the Einstein-Maxwell-scalar theory in asymptotic flat spacetime. We focus on the coupling function $f(\phi)=e^{-b\phi^2}$ which allows both the scalar-free RN solution and scalarized black hole solution. We first present the evolution of system parameters during dynamic scalarization. For parameter regions where spontaneous scalarization occurs, we find that the evolution of the scalar field at the horizon is dominated by the fundamental unstable mode from linear analysis at early times. At late times, the nonlinear evolution can be viewed as the perturbation of scalarized black holes.