Can a photon's energy be so high that it creates a black hole?

[Dragonfall]

Is it possible for a photon to be so energetic that it forms a black hole?

If so, how fast would that black hole be moving?

 

[Drakkith]

Is it possible for a photon to be so energetic that it forms a black hole?

It is not, as the energy of a photon is frame-dependent. An observer moving away from the emitter would measure the photon as having a lower amount of energy than an observer moving towards the emitter. In addition, a photon has no reference frame that we can assign to it.

 

[Arman777]

We need a mass to form a black hole

 

[anorlunda]

It is not, as the energy of a photon is frame-dependent.

Wow, I love PF because I learn every day from people like @Drakkith

Do I understand correctly that objects (like photons) with frame-dependent energy can not form a frame-invariant object (like a BH) seen by observers in all frames? None of my teachers ever mentioned that implication of frame-dependent versus frame-independent. It is so simple and profound.

 

[Drakkith]

Do I understand correctly that objects (like photons) with frame-dependent energy can not form a frame-invariant object (like a BH) seen by observers in all frames? None of my teachers ever mentioned that implication of frame-dependent versus frame-independent. It is so simple and profound.

That is my understanding, but I'm not formally educated in relativity. It's just something I also picked up here at PF.

It does make sense given that a cosmic ray proton traveling near the speed of light may see a massive star as having an staggeringly huge amount of kinetic energy. If the object's invariant mass was dependent on its kinetic energy, this star should collapse into a black hole. But it doesn't.