Gravitational collapse and singularity removal in Rastall theory (Q2660117)

Summary: In the present work, we study spherically symmetric gravitational collapse of a homogeneous fluid in the framework of Rastall gravity. Considering a nonlinear equation of state (EoS) for the fluid profiles, we search for a class of nonsingular collapse solutions and the possibility of singularity removal. We find that depending on the model parameters, the collapse scenario halts at a minimum value of the scale factor at which a bounce occurs. The collapse process then enters an expanding phase in the postbounce regime, and consequently the formation of a spacetime singularity is prevented. We also find that, in comparison to the singular case where the apparent horizon forms to cover the singularity, the formation of apparent horizon can be delayed allowing thus the bounce to be causally connected to the external universe. The nonsingular solutions we obtain satisfy the weak energy condition (WEC) which is crucial for physical validity of the model.