Gravitational vacuum condensate stars

A new final state of gravitational collapse is proposed. By extending the concept of Bose-Einstein condensation to gravitational systems, a cold, dark, compact object with an interior de Sitter condensate p(v) = -rho(v) and an exterior Schwarzschild geometry of arbitrary total mass M is constructed. These regions are separated by a shell with a small but finite proper thickness e of fluid with equation of state p = +rho, replacing both the Schwarzschild and de Sitter classical horizons. The new solution has no singularities, no event horizons, and a global time. Its entropy is maximized under small fluctuations and is given by the standard hydrodynamic entropy of the thin shell, which is of the order k(B)lMc/h, instead of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy formula, S-BH = 4pik(B)GM(2)/hc. Hence, unlike black holes, the new solution is thermodynamically stable and has no information paradox.