Non-Universality of Critical Behaviour in Spherically Symmetric Gravitational Collapse

The aim of the present letter is to explain the `critical behaviour’ observed in numerical studies of spherically symmetric gravitational collaps of a perfect fluid. A simple expression results for the critical index $\gamma$ of the black hole mass considered as an order parameter. $\gamma$ turns out to vary strongly with the parameter $k$ of the assumed equation of state $p=k\rho$.