Can an astrophysical black hole have a topologically non-trivial event horizon?

In 4-dimensional General Relativity, there are several theorems restricting the topology of the event horizon of a black hole. In the stationary case, black holes must have a spherical horizon, while a toroidal spatial topology is allowed only for a short time. In this Letter, we consider spinning black holes inspired by Loop Quantum Gravity and by alternative theories of gravity. We show that the spatial topology of the event horizon of these objects changes when the spin parameter exceeds a critical value and we argue that the phenomenon may be quite common for non-Kerr black holes. Such a possibility may be relevant in astrophysics, as in some models the accretion process can induce the topology transition of the horizon. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.