Negative energy in Hawking radiation

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the concept of negative energy in Hawking radiation, specifically addressing the mathematical interpretations of negative energy quanta entering black holes. Two distinct notions of negative energy are identified: Bogoliubov modes with negative frequencies and the negative flux of energy through the event horizon, derived from the renormalized expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor. The participants express confusion regarding the relationship between these two interpretations, highlighting a disconnect in the heuristic descriptions of Hawking radiation, including the virtual particle pair concept.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Hawking radiation and black hole thermodynamics
  • Familiarity with Bogoliubov transformations in quantum field theory
  • Knowledge of energy-momentum tensor and its renormalization
  • Basic concepts of virtual particles in quantum mechanics
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the mathematical framework of Bogoliubov transformations in quantum field theory
  • Study the implications of the energy-momentum tensor in curved spacetime
  • Explore the concept of virtual particles and their role in quantum field theory
  • Investigate existing literature on the heuristic descriptions of Hawking radiation
USEFUL FOR

Physicists, particularly those specializing in quantum gravity, cosmology, and theoretical physics, as well as students seeking to deepen their understanding of black hole thermodynamics and quantum field theory.

Demystifier
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At a descriptive level, negative energy quanta enter a black hole during Hawking radiation. But when one tries to understand it mathematically, it seems that negative "energies" appear in two very different senses, which seem to be totally unrelated to each other. At one level one has Bogoliubov modes with negative frequencies, i.e. modes proportional to ##e^{-i\omega t}## where ##\omega## is negative and ##t## is a certain coordinate time. At another level one has negative flux of energy through the horizon, computed from the renormalized expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor. But it seems to me that those two notions of "negative energy" are totally unrelated to each other. Or at least I don't see how they are related. Is there a relation between them that I miss?
 
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Demystifier said:
Is there a relation between them that I miss?
Not that I'm aware of. I believe the disconnect between the various heuristic descriptions of Hawking radiation has been commented on in the literature. Another disconnect is between both of your descriptions and the "pair of virtual particles with one falling into the hole and the other escaping to infinity" description.
 
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