Theories of gravity with a preferred foliation usually display arbitrarily fast signal propagation, changing the black hole definition. A new inescapable barrier, the universal horizon, has been defined and many static and spherically symmetric examples have been studied in the literature. Here, we translate the usual definition of the universal horizon in terms of an optical scalar built with the preferred flow defined by the preferred spacetime foliation. The new expression has the advantages of being of quasilocal nature and independent of specific spacetime symmetries in order to be well defined. Therefore, we propose it as a definition for general quasilocal universal horizons. Using the new formalism, we show that there is no universal analog of cosmological horizons for Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker models for any scale factor function, and we also state that quasilocal universal horizons are restricted to trapped regions of the spacetime. Using the evolution equation, we analyze the formation of universal horizons under a truncated Hořava-Lifshitz theory, in spherical symmetry, showing the existence of regions in parameter space where the universal horizon formation cannot be smooth from the center, under some physically reasonable assumptions. We conclude with our view on the next steps for the understanding of black holes in nonrelativistic gravity theories.

• Received 2 December 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.93.104013