Physicists have developed a groundbreaking model that mathematically proves that singularities inside black holes are hidden from observers.
In the 1960s, British physicist and mathematician Roger Penrose proposed the "cosmic censorship" principle, a hypothesis that singularities - regions of space-time with extreme gravitational forces - are always hidden behind a black hole's event horizon.
Singularities are unique points where the classical laws of physics, such as general relativity, break down. Although Penrose's description of black hole singularities is widely accepted, the principle of "cosmic censorship" lacked a mathematical proof-until now.
Four years ago, Penrose was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering work on singularities. Building on his ideas, researchers have developed a new model, published in Physical Review Letters, that mathematically demonstrates how singularities in quantum black holes remain hidden.
The authors of the study believe their findings could unravel long-standing mysteries surrounding quantum gravity, reports Interesting Engineering.
Unlike regular black holes, which form when massive stars collapse in supernova explosions, quantum black holes are theoretical subatomic objects that obey the laws of both quantum mechanics and general relativity.
While regular black holes are known to exist in space, quantum black holes have not yet been observed and remain speculative. Some scientists hypothesize that they could be created in particle accelerators, such as the Large Hadron Collider.
To explore the hidden nature of singularities, physicists have developed a model that explores how quantum matter interacts with quantum black holes. The model uses gravitational holography, a technique that studies gravity under extreme conditions.
Gravitational holography suggests that information about a black hole is encoded at its boundary, or event horizon - similar to how a hologram stores three-dimensional data in a two-dimensional image.
The model shows that when quantum matter interacts with the space-time geometry of a quantum black hole, a quantum effect triggers the formation of an event horizon around the naked singularity, completely hiding it from observers. Researchers have dubbed this phenomenon quantum "cosmic censorship".
While the new model confirms the "cosmic censorship" principle for quantum black holes, the mathematical proof for classical black holes remains elusive. However, the researchers are optimistic that this quantum breakthrough will pave the way for similar results in classical physics.
Physicists believe their findings mark a crucial step toward solving the mysteries of quantum gravity - the theoretical framework that seeks to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity.
A deeper understanding of black hole singularities and the behavior of "cosmic censorship" under quantum influences could provide significant insights into the fabric of the universe.