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No Black Holes from Light.

Álvaro Álvarez-Domínguez1, Luis J Garay1, Eduardo Martín-Martínez2,3,4

  • 1Departamento de Física Teórica and IPARCOS, <a href="https://ror.org/02p0gd045">Universidad Complutense de Madrid</a>, Plaza de las Ciencias 1, 28040 Madrid, Spain.

Physical Review Letters
|August 9, 2024
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Concentrating light cannot create an event horizon due to quantum effects. Dissipative quantum effects, like vacuum polarization from light self-interaction, prevent black hole formation in realistic scenarios.

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Area of Science:

  • Theoretical physics
  • Quantum field theory
  • General relativity

Background:

  • Black hole formation is typically associated with gravitational collapse.
  • The possibility of forming black holes from concentrated electromagnetic fields has been explored theoretically.
  • Quantum effects in strong electromagnetic fields are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the theoretical possibility of forming an event horizon by concentrating light.
  • To determine if quantum effects prevent black hole formation from light.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of quantum electrodynamics (QED) in the context of strong electromagnetic fields.
  • Investigating self-interaction effects of photons, including vacuum polarization.
  • Evaluating energy density requirements for event horizon formation.

Main Results:

  • It is not possible to concentrate sufficient light energy to form an event horizon.
  • Dissipative quantum effects, such as vacuum polarization, significantly limit energy buildup.
  • Self-interaction of light prevents the formation of a meaningful energy density required for black hole creation.

Conclusions:

  • The formation of black holes from concentrated light is not feasible under realistic physical conditions.
  • Quantum effects inherently prevent the necessary energy densities for event horizon formation from light.
  • Theoretical models must account for dissipative quantum effects when considering exotic black hole formation scenarios.