Tachyonic instability and spontaneous scalarization in parameterized Schwarzschild-like black holes

Abstract

Abstract We study the phenomenon of spontaneous scalarization in parameterized Schwarzschild-like black holes. Two metrics are considered, the Konoplya–Zhidenko metric and the Johannsen–Psaltis metric. While these metrics can mimic the Schwarzschild black hole well in the weak-field regime, they have deformed geometries in the near-horizon strong-field region. Such deformations notably influence the emergence of tachyonic instability and subsequent spontaneous scalarization, enabling a clear distinction between these parameterized metrics and the standard Schwarzschild metric. These results suggest a possible way to test the parameterized black holes and thus the Kerr hypothesis by observing the phenomenon of spontaneous scalarization.