The vacuum strikes back: Black stars
I will show that the repulsive effects associated to the zero-point energies of quantum fields are capable of supporting ultracompact stars that overcome the compactness limits present in general relativity for any sphere in hydrostatic equilibrium. These black stars are exact self-consistent solutions in semiclassical gravity that incorporate the backreaction of the renormalized stress-energy tensor (RSET) of quantum fields. We arrive at stars of striking qualitative agreement through two independent modellings of the RSET, evidencing the generality and robustness of this result. The main physical properties of these novel black hole mimickers are reviewed.