Quantum physics and quantum theology have been around for more than a century. General Theory of RelativityThey were a perfect marriage. The two are perfect in their own ways and can’t stand one another in the same room.
Here is a mathematical proof of the quantum nature Black holesWe might just be able to find a way to reconcile the two, or at least enough for a new grand theory about how the Universe operates on both cosmic and microcosmic scales.
Mathematically, a team of physicists have demonstrated a strange quirk in how mind-bendingly dense objects could exist in quantum superposition while simultaneously occupying a spectrum possible characteristics.
The superpositions of mass in a hypothetical type were shown by their calculations Black holeAlso known as the BTZ black holeThey can occupy surprisingly different masses at once.
Normally, any particle of garden variety can exist in a superposition state. Characteristics such as spin and momentum are only known once they become part of an observation.
There are some qualities that you should look for. Like chargeAlthough they only come in discrete units of mass, it isn’t usually quantified. This means that the mass of an unobserved particle could be anywhere within a range or maybes.
However, this research shows that superposition of masses by a blackhole tends favor some measures over other in a pattern that could make it possible to model mass in quantized terms. This could give us a new framework for probing the quantum-gravitational effects of black holes in superposition in order to ease the tension between General relativityQuantum theory.
“Until now we haven’t deep investigated whether black holes exhibit some of the strange and wonderful behaviors that quantum physics displays.” Joshua Foo, theoretical physicist, explainsThe University of Queensland, Australia.
Superposition, in which particles on a quantum level can exist in multiple states simultaneously, is one example of such behavior. This is most commonly illustrated by Schrödinger’s cat, which can be both dead and alive simultaneously.”
“But for black holes, it was important to determine if they could have wildly diverse masses at once. It turns out they can. Imagine you’re both broad and tall, as well as short and skinny at the same time – it’s a situation which is intuitively confusing since we’re anchored in the world of traditional physics. However, quantum black holes are able to see this reality.
The black hole’s extreme gravity makes it an ideal laboratory for probing quantum gravity – the rolling continuum of spacetime according to general theory of relativity wedded to quantum mechanical theory, which describes the physical Universe in terms of discrete quantities, such as particles.
A single theory that could explain gravity and particles might be possible if models are based on specific types of black holes. General relativity doesn’t account for some of the effects observed around black holes. For this, we need quantum gravity – a unified theory that incorporates both sets of rules and somehow gets them to play nice.
Foo and his collaborators developed a mathematical framework which allows physicists, in effect, to observe a particle that has been placed outside a blackhole that is in a quantum superposition.
Because mass is the only property of black holes we can measure, it was the main property they investigated.
“Our work shows that the very early theories of Jacob Bekenstein – an American and Israeli theoretical physicist who made fundamental contributions to the foundation of black hole Thermodynamics – were on the money,” says quantum physicist Magdalena ZychUniversity of Queensland
“[Bekenstein] postulated that black holes can only have masses that are of certain values, that is, they must fall within certain bands or ratios – this is how energy levels of an atom works, for example. Our modeling showed that these superposed masses were, in fact, in certain determined bands or ratios – as predicted by Bekenstein.
“We didn’t suppose any such pattern going into, so we were quite surprised to find this evidence.”
Researchers say the results provide a roadmap for future research into quantum gravity concepts such as superposed space-time and quantum black holes. These concepts are essential to complete a description of quantum gravity.
The researchers also allow for more in-depth investigation of the superposed spacetime and its effects on the particles contained within it.
“The Universe is revealing to me that it’s always much more bizarre, mysterious, and fascinating than I could have imagined,” Zych says.
The research was published in Physical Review Letters.
