Late-time evolution of charged gravitational collapse and decay of charged scalar hair. I

We study analytically the asymptotic evolution of charged fields around a Reissner-Nordstrom black hole. Following the no-hair theorem we focus attention on the dynamical mechanism by which the charged hair is radiated away. We find an inverse power-law relaxation of the charged fields at future timelike infinity, along future null infinity, and an oscillatory inverse power-law relaxation along the future outer horizon. We show that charged hair is shed slower than neutral hair. Our results are also of importance to the study of mass inflation and the stability of Cauchy horizons during a dynamical gravitational collapse of charged matter to form a charged black hole. [S0556-2821(98)01614-2].