Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026
10:00
Gradient Echo Quantum Memory in Warm Atomic Vapor
Published on: November 11, 2013
Quantum evaporation of a naked singularity
Rituparno Goswami1, Pankaj S Joshi, Parampreet Singh
1Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, Colaba, Mumbai 400005, India.
Physical Review Letters
|February 21, 2006
Summary
Quantum gravity effects prevent naked singularities by creating an outward energy flux, dissolving collapsing clouds before formation. This quantum gravitational mass flux may offer novel astrophysical signatures.
Area of Science:
- Theoretical physics
- Quantum gravity
- Cosmology
Background:
- Classical general relativity predicts naked singularities in certain gravitational collapse scenarios.
- Naked singularities, lacking an event horizon, pose challenges to the predictability of physical theories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate quantum effects on gravitational collapse of a scalar field model.
- To determine if quantum gravity can resolve the formation of classical naked singularities.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing nonperturbative semiclassical modifications inspired by loop quantum gravity.
- Analyzing the behavior of a scalar field model undergoing gravitational collapse.
Main Results:
- A strong outward energy flux is generated near the would-be singularity.
- The collapsing cloud dissolves before a singularity can form.
- Quantum gravitational effects effectively 'censor' naked singularities.
Conclusions:
- Quantum gravity prevents the formation of naked singularities.
- The induced mass flux may serve as a novel observable signature in astrophysical phenomena like gamma-ray bursts.
Related Concept Videos
02:45The Quantum-Mechanical Model of an Atom
Shortly after de Broglie published his ideas that the electron in a hydrogen atom could be better thought of as being a circular standing wave instead of a particle moving in quantized circular orbits, Erwin Schrödinger extended de Broglie’s work by deriving what is now known as the Schrödinger equation. When Schrödinger applied his equation to hydrogen-like atoms, he was able to reproduce Bohr’s expression for the energy and, thus, the Rydberg formula governing hydrogen spectra. Schrödinger...
02:39Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation
The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase molecules...
01:21Schwarzschild Radius and Event Horizon
No object with a finite mass can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. This fact has an interesting consequence in the domain of extremely high gravitational fields.
The minimum speed required to launch a projectile from the surface of an object to which it is gravitationally bound so that it eventually escapes the object’s gravitational field is called the escape velocity. The escape velocity is independent of the mass of the object. Merging the idea of escape velocity with the...
The minimum speed required to launch a projectile from the surface of an object to which it is gravitationally bound so that it eventually escapes the object’s gravitational field is called the escape velocity. The escape velocity is independent of the mass of the object. Merging the idea of escape velocity with the...
01:14Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics
Experimentally, if object A is in equilibrium with object B, and object B is in equilibrium with object C, then object A is in equilibrium with object C. That statement of transitivity is called the "zeroth law of thermodynamics." For example, a cold metal block and a hot metal block are both placed on a metal plate at room temperature. Eventually, the cold block and the plate will be in thermal equilibrium. In addition, the hot block and the plate will be in thermal equilibrium. By the zeroth...
01:14The Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics
Systems in mechanical equilibrium exert equal pressure on the separating wall. Similarly, systems in thermal equilibrium share a common thermodynamic property: temperature.Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of particles within a system. More generally, it reflects the internal energy state of the system. The higher the temperature, the more energy a system has, given that other variables, such as volume and pressure, remain constant. However, temperature is not a form of...
02:33Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
Some solids can transition directly into the gaseous state, bypassing the liquid state, via a process known as sublimation. At room temperature and standard pressure, a piece of dry ice (solid CO2) sublimes, appearing to gradually disappear without ever forming any liquid. Snow and ice sublimate at temperatures below the melting point of water, a slow process that may be accelerated by winds and the reduced atmospheric pressures at high altitudes. When solid iodine is warmed, the solid sublimes...