Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity, general relativity, is famously incomplete. A “singularity” – a point of infinite density or curvature – is formed when matter collapses under its own gravitational pull. However, the laws of physics as we know them break down at singularities.
Roger Penrose proved that nature may hold a remedy for this fate – black holes. The event horizon of a black hole acts as a one-way membrane in space-time, trapping objects and light once they cross it due to its incredibly strong gravitational pull.
Penrose postulated the concept of “cosmic censorship,” which suggests that singularities are always “clothed” by event horizons, meaning we could never observe one. This remains an open problem in mathematical physics.
Recent work published in Physical Review Letters showed that quantum mechanics supports cosmic censorship. The study focused on quantum black holes and introduced a new concept: the quantum Penrose inequality.
This inequality limits the energy of space-time based on the total entropy – a statistical measure of disorder – of the black holes and quantum matter contained within it. This ensures that the total energy cannot be lower than the total entropy, preventing violations of thermodynamic laws.
The research team discovered that this quantum Penrose inequality applies to all known examples of quantum black holes, even in the presence of strong quantum effects. The result strengthens the concept of cosmic censorship and suggests that quantum mechanics can indeed “screen” the fate of singularities from us.
Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/quantum-censorship-could-hide-the-awful-truth-of-what-lies-inside-a-black-hole