Partially Correct: Theoretical Analysis Validates Stephen Hawking’s Black Hole Evaporation Model

New theoretical research by Michael Wondrak, Walter van Suelekom and Heino Falk of Radboud University shows that Stephen Hawking was right about black holes, though not entirely. Because of Hawking radiation, black holes will eventually evaporate, but the event horizon is not as critical as it was thought. Gravity and the curvature of space-time also cause this radiation. This means that all large objects in the universe, such as remnants of stars, will eventually evaporate.

Using a clever combination of quantum physics and Einstein’s theory of gravity, Stephen Hawking argued that the spontaneous creation and annihilation of pairs of particles must occur near the event horizon (the point beyond which no escape from the gravitational force of a black hole can occur).

A particle and its antiparticle are created very briefly by the quantum field, after which they are instantly annihilated. But sometimes a particle falls into the black hole, and then another particle can escape: Hawking radiation. According to Hawking, this will eventually lead to the evaporation of black holes.

In this new study, researchers at Radboud University revisited this process and investigated whether or not the existence of an event horizon is critical. They combined techniques from physics, astronomy and mathematics to examine what happens if such pairs of particles are created in the vicinity of black holes. The study showed that new particles can also be created far beyond this horizon. “We prove that in addition to the well-known Hawking radiation, there is also a new form of radiation,” says Michael Wondrak.

Everything evaporates

Van Suijlekom says, “We’ve shown that far away from the black hole, the curvature of space-time plays a large role in the formation of radiation. The particles are already separated there by tidal forces in the gravitational field.” While it was previously thought that no radiation is possible without an event horizon, this study shows that such a horizon is not necessary.

Falk says, “This means that objects without an event horizon, such as the remnants of dead stars and other large objects in the universe, also have this type of radiation. After a very long time, it will cause everything in the universe to eventually evaporate, just like wormholes.” This changes not only our understanding of Hawking radiation, but also our view of the universe and its future.”

The study has been accepted for publication in Physical review lettersMeanwhile, a copy of the paper can be read at arXiv Prepress server.