Despite no one daring to claim how black holes will meet their end, recent research suggests that black holes may have a different fate than previously thought by astronomers.
Graphic simulation of a supermassive black hole. ESO/M. KORNMESSER
Ever since the British theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking, discovered the phenomenon of ‘evaporation’ in black holes, experts realized that black holes could also evaporate in the cosmos. However, humanity’s understanding of gravitational forces and quantum mechanics is still insufficient to describe the ultimate moments of a black hole.
Now, new research has proposed a new hypothesis about the possible demise of black holes, according to Space.com.
The Significance of Hawking’s Theory
In the 1970s, Professor Hawking applied the language of quantum mechanics to explore what happens near the event horizon of a black hole, also known as the point of no return. The event horizon is the boundary beyond which the escape velocity of a black hole exceeds the speed of light. It’s a virtual boundary that limits the area surrounding a black hole. Anything that falls beyond it disappears forever from the universe.
During his analysis, he discovered a peculiar interaction between the quantum fields of the universe and the one-way boundary of the event horizon, allowing energy to create a path for escape from the black hole. This energy exists in the form of a slow but stable radiative stream, and these particles were named Hawking radiation. In other words, Hawking radiation is the predicted radiation emitted by black objects attempting to escape from a black hole due to the quantum effects near the event horizon.
With energy gradually dissipating over time, the black hole loses mass and contracts until it vanishes from the universe. The experts are currently striving to understand the black hole’s final moments due to the limitations of their knowledge. Thus, astrophysicists are building a more plausible quantum gravity theory to address this issue.
Researchers seek to explain the demise of black holes. PHYS.ORG
The Hypothesis About the Moment of Demise
During the process of evaporation, black holes shrink, and the event horizon gets pulled closer to a peculiar point. In the last moments of a black hole’s life, gravitational forces reach their peak, while the black hole remains at an extremely small size. Due to limited knowledge, experts are still unable to provide a detailed description of the final moments of a black hole. Therefore, astrophysicists are making efforts to develop a more reasonable quantum gravity theory to solve this problem.
Currently, several candidates exist for quantum gravity theories, with string theory being the most persuasive theory to date. String theory is a quantum gravity theory designed to unify all fundamental particles and forces of nature, including gravity. Modern theoretical physicists hope that this theory might provide answers to questions such as the quantum effects at black holes and peculiar points.
Recently, a research team has presented the Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity theory, aiming to investigate the final stages of black holes. Despite facing limitations, this new theory allows experts to imagine what might occur when a black hole reaches the moment of demise.
One of the most important characteristics of Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity is that it sets a minimum mass for black holes. As a result, researchers can analyze what happens when a black hole evaporates and shrinks to this minimum threshold.
Depending on the black hole’s evolutionary process, it may shrink to the level of a subatomic particle. Such a particle wouldn’t have an event horizon, potentially allowing humans to manipulate it and collect it.
Another possibility is that the black hole reaches the minimum mass, loses the event horizon, but still maintains the peculiar point. This is a form that cannot exist based on the principles of general relativity, but if true, it could open new avenues of research in the field of quantum gravity.”