Physicists say a new study on the microstructure of black holes promises to unlock the mysteries of the universe.
Black holes are regions in spacetime with gravitational fields so strong that nothing can escape them, not even light. As a result, most of these colossal objects drift invisibly through space, complicating the resolution of many open questions regarding their mind-bending properties.
Black holes are regions in spacetime with strong gravitational fields, from which nothing can escape.
Scientists now believe there is a way to confirm a crucial mystery about black holes and whether they generate vortex structures. This is all thanks to the method of searching for specific signs in space. These vortices would have a structure similar to the swirling maelstroms of tornadoes and whirlpools, but instead, they would emerge in various locations around the black hole.
In addition to shedding light on black holes, these clues have the potential to open “a window of observation for various latent fields” of the universe, including the nature of dark matter.
While popular descriptions of black holes often make them appear as gigantic space whirlwinds, the presence of vortices in these entities remains a contentious issue. The research team, led by Gia Dvali, director of the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Germany, presented new theoretical evidence showing that rapidly spinning black holes “naturally support vortex structures” and that the vortical forces of black holes could lead to “observable consequences.”
Dvali and his colleagues stated: “The microstructure of black holes is still not well understood. One of the main obstacles is the lack of experimental probes into the quantum properties of black holes. It is crucial to identify and explore the micro-theories that lead to observable macroscopic phenomena.”
The research team further shared: “We will help raise awareness of vortex phenomena. We believe that… the vortical characteristics in black holes can be understood without delving deeply into the techniques of quantum gravitational calculations.”
The new study is partly inspired by experimental research on Bose-Einstein condensates, a supercooled state of matter with strange quantum properties that are very useful for modeling the behaviors of black holes. According to Dvali’s research group, numerous laboratory experiments have demonstrated the formation of vortices in these condensates. This suggests that structures could also form in black holes spinning at extremely high speeds.
Structures could lead to extraordinary breakthroughs beyond black holes.
The presence of vortices may explain why rapidly spinning black holes seemingly do not produce Hawking radiation, a type of radiation emitted from black holes. These structures could also lead to extraordinary breakthroughs beyond black holes, including the opportunity to open “a gateway into the realm of dark matter.”
This figurative gateway may be hidden within extremely luminous objects known as active galactic nuclei, powered by supermassive black holes located at the centers of large galaxies. These nuclei emit massive jets of plasma moving nearly at the speed of light and can extend over a million light-years.
Dvali and his colleagues note that these energetic jets could emit magnetic signatures of the vortices in light and could be captured and decoded from images taken by telescopes. The jets are also believed to interact with dark matter, an unidentified substance that makes up a significant portion of the mass in the universe. As a result, future observations of jets and signs of the vortices within them will provide insights for the quest to understand dark matter.
Florian Kühnel, an astrophysicist at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, and a co-author of the study, stated: “We have just begun to explore the vortex field of black holes. There are countless important and fascinating questions to address to open the door to new and exciting quantum aspects of spacetime.”
The study has been published in the journal Physical Review Letters.
