High energy scattering in QCD vs. Tiny black holes

We review the holographic conjecture which links the transition from a dilute to a dense system of partons in DIS with the formation of tiny black holes in the gravitational collapse of a perfect fluid. At small 't Hooft coupling and large center-of-mass energies the onset of unitar-ity in the Yang-Mills side is interpreted as the formation of a horizon due to nonlinear gravitational dynamics in the higher dimensional bulk. Recent progress in the study of critical behaviour present in the formation of closed trapped surfaces in the collision of gravitational shock waves is also presented.