Classical and Quantum Gravitational Collapse in d-dim AdS Spacetime I. Classical Solutions

We study the collapse of a spherically symmetric dust distribution in $d$-dimensional AdS spacetime. We investigate the role of dimensionality, and the presence of a negative cosmological constant, in determining the formation of trapped surfaces and the end state of gravitational collapse. We obtain the self-similar solution for the case of zero cosmological constant, and show that one cannot construct a self-similar solution when a cosmological constant is included.