Black holes are probably the most mysterious objects in the universe. Their gravity allows nothing, not even light, to escape. But new research has suggested that black holes may, in fact, merely be holograms.
A hologram is a three-dimensional image formed due to the interference of light beams from a laser or other coherent light source.
These theoretical physicists have developed a new way to estimate the chaotic states that exist beyond the event horizons of black holes.
Their calculations suggest that although these powerful celestial bodies are thought to have three-dimensions, they may in fact be two-dimensional projections.
Their results are consistent with a theory known as the holography hypothesis which suggests that the universe itself might be a two-dimensional surface that we cannot see.
The researchers say their work, which is published in the journal Physical Review Letters, could allow scientists to gain new insights into the gravitational states that exist within a black hole.
Dr Daniele Pranzetti, a physicist at the Max Planck Institute for Theoretical Physics in Munich, Germany, told the Daily Mail, “We were able to use a more complete and richer model compared with what’s done in the past, and obtain a far more realistic and robust result. This allowed us to resolve several ambiguities afflicting previous calculations.”
For their calculations, the researchers used a phenomenon known as quantum gravity to examine the entropy, or disorder, that exists in black holes.
Previous works by scientists such as Professor Stephen Hawking suggest that the entropy of a black hole is proportional to its area but not its volume.
Quantum gravity assumes that the fabric of space-time is made up of grains known as quanta and explores the effects of gravity on these tiny scales.
It could provide a way of modelling what may lie at the heart of black holes according to the behaviour of their gravity.
“The idea at the basis of our study is that homogenous classical geometries emerge from a condensate of quanta of space introduced in a Loop Quantum Gravity in order to describe quantum geometries,” Dr Pranzetti added.
This could mean that all the information needed to understand the structure of black holes is actually contained on a two-dimensional surface—physicists just need to know how to translate it.
