Reflection from the horizon of black holes

Michael Kuchiev
(School of Physics, University of New South Wales)



Usually it is presumed that any particle that approaches the event horizon of a black hole crosses the horizon quite smoothly and then stays inside. However, it has been argued recently ( Kuchiev [1-3] ) that this physical picture holds only in the classical approximation. Quantum corrections amend it qualitatively, making possible the reflection on the horizon. In other words, any particle that approaches the horizon can bounce back in the outside world. The reflection is strong for low energy particles, which makes black holes almost perfect reflectors in the infrared region. The effect of reflection shares its physical origins with the Hawking radiation phenomenon, they both rely on quantum processes that take place in the strong gravitational field strictly on the event horizon. The effect is bound to produce a number of consequences, including physics of the Kerr black holes.

References:
  • 1. M. Yu. Kuchiev, Reflection, radiation and interference for black holes, Phys.Rev.D (2004) scheduled for the June issue; gr-qc/0310051.
  • 2. M. Yu. Kuchiev,Reflection from black holes and space-time topology, Europhys. Lett. 65 (2004) 445-451; gr-qc/0310134.
  • 3. M. Yu. Kuchiev, Reflection from black holes, gr-qc/0310008.