System Information
Operating system: Arch Linux, Windows 10/11.
Graphics card: RTX 2070, RTX 3070Ti.
Blender Version
Broken: All version 2.9 - 3.3.
Worked: no.
Short description of error
Some holes have bright spots instead of shadows.
I am attaching a file.
It seems to me, or do you call the lighting just a penumbra and re-reflections in a cylindrical cavity?
Your light sources are large enough for the reflections to fill these areas with light. And their shape suggests a large concentration during re-reflection.
I'm not a physics scientist, but it shouldn't be brighter in the recesses than on the surface. Why then are there no such bright spots anywhere on the surface. Have you ever seen in your life that the recess is brighter than the surroundings?
This is expected as far as I can see. Consider a simple plane with a recessed hole and a single area light on top, the center of the hole would be brighter than exposed surfaces, because not only does it receive direct lighting, it also receives indirect bounces from the boundary of the hole. In other situations, low lighting can cause strong shadows that darken the hole, and in others, the viewing angle might have a darkening effect in the spirit of lambertian shading. Both cases are not strong in your example file, so indirect bounces are more apparent.
