Radical Theory Says Black Holes May Spew Matter And Time as White Holes

 

Illustration of a white hole. (Philip Drury/University of Sheffield)

The universe may have a mechanism for producing white holes.

A recent, extremely theoretical research suggests that the speculative objects might be the consequence of a quantum "bounce" at a black hole's core, which would cause time itself to pour out from the depths along with matter.

The crux of the black hole problem is actually time. The stream eventually ceases, taking any information that was flowing with it with it. The researchers behind this new study are rethinking what we could mean by time in the first place because this violates a rather basic law in quantum physics.

According to physicist Steffen Gielen of the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, "in our research time is derived from the mysterious dark energy which permeates the entire Universe, whereas time is, in general, thought to be relative to the observer."

We suggest that the dark energy that permeates the universe and drives its present expansion is the measure of time. This is the crucial new concept that enables us to understand the processes taking on inside a black hole.

One of the universe's most fascinating anomalies is the black hole.  A singularity, or a single, one-dimensional point of infinite density, is the best mathematical term for these areas of space-time when matter has achieved such extreme densities.

 At least some of them originate from the collapsing cores of huge stars when they die; these cores, no longer held up by the external pressure of fusion, give way to gravity, forming an area of space so dense that escape velocity cannot be reached at even light speed.  This implies that matter is gravitationally sucked past the black hole event horizon once it gets close enough, and it will never be able to escape.

Most likely.  Maybe.  Unless there are white holes.  These hypothetical objects are the opposite of a black hole, which is a singularity that forces matter out rather than drawing it in, as the name implies.

 Although there is currently no proof that the universe contains any white holes, Gielen and his colleague, Complutense University of Madrid theoretical physicist Lucía Menéndez-Pidal, have demonstrated that a black hole can, at least in theory, change into a white hole.

Their calculations were based on a mathematical model of a black hole called a planar black hole, which is found in an anti-de Sitter space, which is a distorted version of our universe.

 Instead of a three-dimensional sphere in a flat environment, this is an extremely simplified representation of the genuine object that is only described in negative-curved two dimensions, or a saddle-shaped plane.

 They then investigated the internal singularity using quantum mechanics.

"It has long been a question as to whether quantum mechanics can change our understanding of black holes and give us insights into their true nature," Gielen stated.  "In quantum mechanics, time as we understand it cannot end as systems perpetually change and evolve."

 The gravitational field surrounding the singularity is infinitely strong under general relativity, with implications that are not well understood in terms of quantum physics or relativity.

 However, it may be feasible to uncover some gaps that make the impossible singularity more comprehensible by questioning some fundamental presumptions.

Gielen and Menéndez-Pidal discovered that the black hole's core is not a singularity but rather an area where significant quantum fluctuations—shifts in the space-time energy—occur.

In this scenario, the black hole turns into a white hole, and its singularity and horizons are described as areas of severe quantum fluctuations where time 'bounces', carrying its information with it, rather than ending or fading into eternity.

The idea is not new; scientists have already wondered if there are quantum echoes on the other side of black holes. However, reconsidering time itself might offer a fresh perspective on the ridiculousness of singularities.

White holes raise numerous questions, and there are good grounds to think that the universe may not be able to create them. The goal of this very speculative study is to better understand how black holes function rather than to support the existence of white holes.

Furthermore, physicists are eager to understand how general relativity and quantum mechanics, two radically different and seemingly incompatible theories, can coexist in the same physical universe. These kinds of works are steps in the process of solving that puzzling issue. It's also just incredibly cool.

"Hypothetically you could have an observer – a hypothetical entity – go through the black hole, through what we think of as a singularity and emerge on the other side of the white hole," adds Gielen. "It's a highly abstract notion of an observer but it could happen, in theory."

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