Calculating M from Charge & Angular Momentum in Black Hole

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the relationship between the mass (M), charge (Q), and angular momentum (J) of black holes, specifically how Q and J contribute to M. Participants explore theoretical implications and calculations related to these parameters in the context of general relativity and black hole physics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions how much of the mass M of a black hole is contributed by charge Q and angular momentum J, suggesting that the mass gain could be related to the work required to bring charge to the event horizon.
  • Another participant references a paper and a specific equation that may provide insight into the relationship between these parameters, indicating a potential mathematical framework for understanding the contributions of Q and J.
  • A different participant raises concerns about the behavior of mass contributions as black holes transition from extremal to naked states, noting that the contributions of Q and J seem to vanish when the event horizon is lost.
  • Additional references are provided for calculating the irreducible mass of black holes, suggesting that certain relationships hold true under specific conditions, such as when the black hole is extremal.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the contributions of charge and angular momentum to mass, particularly in extreme cases. There is no consensus on how these contributions behave as black holes transition to naked states, indicating ongoing debate and exploration of the topic.

Contextual Notes

Participants note limitations in understanding the contributions of Q and J, particularly in extreme scenarios, and highlight the dependence on definitions and conditions related to black hole states.

michael879
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Ok so this has always confused me and I still can't seem to find an answer anywhere! A general black hole has parameters M, Q, and J which are given the meaning of mass, charge, and angular momentum. My question is what what is the contribution to M by Q and J?? Presumably if you start with a Schwarzschild black hole and drop "massless" charge (not possible in reality but electrons at rest come pretty close) into it, it will not only gain charge but M will be increased due to the compression of like-signed charges. The situation is similar for angular momentum where a rotating black hole partially repels objects with angular momentum in the same direction. The extra energy required to get the object into the black hole should add to M.

So how much of M is due to charge and angular momentum, and how would you go about calculating it? Naively I would guess that the mass gain is equal to the work required to bring the charge up to the event horizon (since no energy can escape whatever happens within the horizon can't increase the mass).
 
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Thanks, that's an interesting way to look at it. I'm a little curious why the entire concept would break down for naked black holes though. As far as I know GR allows for the existence of naked black holes. However if you look at the fraction of mass from the 3 "sources" as a black hole becomes extremal and then naked, you see some strange behavior.. An extremal black hole has 1/2 of its mass from charge/angular momentum and 1/2 from the "static" term. However once you lose the event horizon the entire equation breaks down and Q and J no longer appear to contribute to the mass at all!
 

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