Now reading: A big, hairy black-hole bomb?
Menu
Close
Close

Take a self-guided tour from quantum to cosmos!

A big, hairy black-hole bomb?

Researchers at Perimeter Institute and Princeton University have created simulations that indicate, contrary to conventional wisdom, spinning black holes may have “hair” of the stuff they gobble.

black hole

Black holes have long been believed to have “no hair.” It’s a (somewhat peculiar) metaphor for the notion that once matter zooms past a black hole’s point-of-no-return event horizon, it leaves no trace of its existence, forever inaccessible to outside observers.

But new research suggests that certain black holes could indeed have “long hair,” in the form of a cloud of particles created through a bomb-like process.

William East of Perimeter Institute and Frans Pretorious of Princeton University recently published a paper, in Physical Review Lettersin which they describe simulations of a spinning solar-mass black hole.

They found that a process called superradiance – in which particles and electromagnetic radiation scatter and gain energy from a black hole’s angular momentum – could create a cloud of bosons that extends like hair outside the event horizon.

Check out an APS Physics Viewpoint on the subject, a summary article at Physics World, and read the team’s paper at Physical Review Letters.

For more information, contact:

Colin Hunter
Director of Communications & Media
[email protected]
519-569-7600 ext. 4474

Related

On July 27, Juan Maldacena, a luminary in the worlds of string theory and quantum gravity, will share his insights on black holes, wormholes, and quantum entanglement.

/Jul 12, 2023

Clouds of particles surrounding some black holes could create smaller versions of cosmic strings and provide insights into dark matter, according to research by Perimeter’s William East.

/Oct 06, 2022

Is the universe a hologram? Celestial holography researchers, like Perimeter’s Ana-Maria Raclariu, are exploring the idea as a new way of approaching quantum gravity.

/Jun 21, 2022
Perimeter Institute

Perimeter Institute is the world’s largest independent research hub devoted to theoretical physics. It was founded in 1999 to foster breakthroughs in the fundamental understanding of our universe, from the smallest particles to the entire cosmos. Perimeter is a not-for-profit, charitable organization devoted to fundamental research, training, and educational outreach. Be part of the equation.

Visit website

Charitable Registration Number
88981 4323 RR0001