Novel black holes with scalar hair in the Einstein-Maxwell-scalar theory with positive coupling

In this work, we find a new branch of hairy black hole solutions in the Einstein-Maxwell-scalar theory in four-dimensional asymptotically flat spacetimes. Different from spontaneous scalarization induced by tachyonic instabilities in Reissner-Nordström (RN) black holes with a negative coupling parameter, these scalar-hairy black hole solutions arise when the coupling parameter is positive, where nonlinear coupling plays the dominant role, meaning that the coupling is positively correlated with the degree of deviation from the trivial state. Our numerical analysis reveals that the scalar field grows monotonically with the radial coordinate and asymptotically approaches a finite constant, exhibiting behavior that is qualitatively similar to that of the Maxwell potential. In these solutions, an increase in the charge q causes the scalar-hairy solutions to deviate further from the RN state, while excessive charging drives the system back toward hairless solutions. Strengthening the coupling parameter compresses the existence domain of the scalar-hairy state, which lies entirely within the parameter region of RN black holes. Moreover, by evaluating the quasinormal modes, we show that the obtained scalar-hairy solutions are stable against linearized scalar perturbations.