May 3, 2024

If Black Holes Evaporate, Everything Evaporates

Hawking radiation is one of the most famous physical processes in astronomy. Through Hawking radiation, the mass, and energy of a black hole escape over time. Since as famous as it is, Hawking radiation is unproven.

Hawking proposed the concept of black hole radiation while studying ways to incorporate Einsteins classical theory of gravity with the quantum theory of atoms and light. We dont have a fully quantum theory of gravity, so Hawking used a semiclassical approach, where matter is treated as quantum while gravity is dealt with classically. From this, Hawking revealed that quantum fields could escape the occasion horizon of a black hole.
The Hawking process is typically represented by virtual set production. Near the occasion horizon of a black hole one member of a virtual set could be caught by the black hole, leaving the other to leave as genuine radiation.

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Hawking radiation near an occasion horizon. Credit: NAU.
There are, however, other semi-classical approaches to gravity than the one Hawking utilized. One method is to look at the matter caught within a black hole as a quantum wavefunction bound by extreme gravity. You get black hole radiation without the requirement for virtual particles.
For this work, the group looked at a various formula of Hawking radiation, somewhat similar to the wavefunction technique. They found that when it comes to Hawking radiation, the occasion horizon of a black hole isnt particularly special. Black holes are by far the most effective generators of Hawking radiation, but if you wait long enough, even your favorite rock will radiate its mass away.
This design does not change our understanding of black holes, but it could have significant repercussions for long-lasting cosmology. The universe will fade into a cold sea of radiation if everything disappears in a poof of radiation offered adequate time.
Referral: Wondrak, Michael F., Walter D. van Suijlekom, and Heino Falcke. “Gravitational Pair Production and Black Hole Evaporation.” Physical Review Letters 130.22 (2023 ): 221502.
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Hawking radiation is one of the most popular physical procedures in astronomy. Through Hawking radiation, the mass, and energy of a black hole escape over time. Hawking proposed the idea of black hole radiation while studying methods to integrate Einsteins classical theory of gravity with the quantum theory of atoms and light. They found that when it comes to Hawking radiation, the occasion horizon of a black hole isnt especially special. Black holes are by far the most reliable generators of Hawking radiation, but if you wait long enough, even your preferred rock will radiate its mass away.

The virtual particle visualization is appealing, but it isnt without its problems. Hawkings approach can result in things such as the firewall software paradox, where the area near a great void occasion horizon should be both empty and ablaze with realized virtual particles. Without a completely quantum method to gravity, we cant resolve these paradoxes quickly.