How does a black hole die
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How Does a Black Hole Die?
Black holes, some of the most mysterious objects in the universe, have fascinated scientists for decades. Understanding their life cycle, particularly how they die, involves complex interactions between quantum mechanics and general relativity. Here, we explore the various mechanisms proposed for the death of a black hole.
Hawking Radiation and Black Hole Evaporation
One of the most widely accepted theories about black hole death involves Hawking radiation. Quantum mechanical effects cause black holes to emit particles as if they were hot bodies. This thermal emission leads to a gradual decrease in the mass of the black hole, eventually causing it to evaporate completely. This process is significant for primordial black holes, which would have evaporated by now if their mass were less than about (10^{15}) grams2 6.
Gravitational Shock Waves
Recent simulations incorporating quantum gravity effects suggest that when a black hole dies, the information it has swallowed is released back into the universe through gravitational shock waves. This finding helps resolve the "information paradox," which arises from conflicting predictions of quantum mechanics and general relativity1.
Quantum Tunneling to White Holes
Another intriguing theory involves the quantum tunneling of a black hole into a white hole. This process suggests that a black hole can transform into a white hole, acting as a long-lived remnant. This model provides a potential resolution to the information paradox and suggests that the black hole's life cycle includes formation, evaporation, tunneling to a white hole, and final slow decay4.
Self-Similar Evaporation and Collapse
In a quantum portrait of black holes, they are considered as Bose condensates of gravitons at a quantum critical point. The evaporation of a black hole in this model is due to two intertwined effects: coherent excitation of a tachyonic breathing mode and incoherent scattering of gravitons, leading to Hawking radiation. This model suggests that the black hole remains at a critical point throughout its collapse, with potential for very short lifetimes if a three-body decay channel exists5.
Conclusion
The death of a black hole is a complex process influenced by quantum mechanical effects, gravitational shock waves, and potential quantum tunneling to white holes. While Hawking radiation remains a cornerstone theory, newer models incorporating quantum gravity provide additional insights into the final stages of a black hole's life. Understanding these processes not only helps resolve long-standing paradoxes but also deepens our comprehension of the universe's most enigmatic objects.
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Shock Waves Emanate from Dying Black Holes
When a black hole dies, the information it swallowed during its life is released back into the Universe through a gravitational shock wave, resolving the "information paradox" and resolving the clash between quantum mechanics and general relativity.
Particle creation by black holes
Quantum mechanical effects cause black holes to create and emit particles as if they were hot bodies, leading to their eventual disappearance and violation of the classical law of event horizon area not decreasing.
Highly CitedBlack holes die hard: Can one spin up a black hole past extremality?
This method for destroying black holes fails, preserving cosmic censorship and preventing the event horizon from being destroyed in various black hole geometries.
Highly CitedWhite holes as remnants: a surprising scenario for the end of a black hole
A black hole can tunnel into a white hole, providing a long-lived solution to the information paradox and not violating known physics.
Highly CitedSelf-similar evaporation and collapse in the quantum portrait of black holes
Black holes can be viewed as Bose condensates of gravitons at a quantum critical point, where evaporation and collapse are driven by two intertwined effects: coherent excitation of a tachyonic breathing mode and incoherent scattering of gravitons.
Black hole explosions?
Black holes may have finite lives, with smaller black holes evaporating by now, and their rate of emission being similar to a body with a temperature of 106 (Mcirċ/M)K.
Highly CitedLimits on New Physics from Black Holes
Black holes can catalyze vacuum decay, placing new constraints on hierarchical spectra theories and potentially impacting the standard model and its extensions.
The Generalized Uncertainty Principle and Black Hole Remnants
The generalized uncertainty principle may prevent black hole total evaporation, as it prevents hydrogen atom total collapse through dynamics, as minimum size and mass approaches.
Highly CitedParticle Creation by Black Holes
Quantum mechanical effects cause black holes to create and emit particles as if they were hot bodies, leading to their eventual disappearance and violation of the classical law that event horizons cannot decrease.
Highly CitedBlack holes in general relativity
A stationary black hole must have a topologically spherical boundary and be axisymmetric if it is rotating, establishing the conjecture that any stationary black hole is a Kerr solution.
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