Quark Degeneracy? String Degeneracy? (and the effect on Black Holes)

[mjacobsca]

Are there any theories that suggest that there are smaller degenerate states than the state reached in a neutron star? For example, is there a degenerate state for quarks? For strings? (should they exist)

For theories that suggest such possibilities, do they discuss what would happen to the classical definition of a black hole? I imagine we would still have a black hole, but the center of the black hole isn't a singularity, but rather an extremely dense, degenerate core made of quarks or strings that prevents the full collapse to infinity, yet still also prevents the escape of photons outside the event horizon.

And if such a degenerate state exists, does it end all discussion on wormholes and portals to other dimensions via black holes? I've seen endless models of black holes pinching off baby universes. I don't know if I believe in these theories (although I have no reason not to), but it seems to me that these models could not exist if a black hole doesn't end in a singularity.

 

[stevebd1]

Black holes are predicted to rotate which means the degenerate matter collapses to a ring. I have seen some diagrams that imply the ring is actually made up of degenerate neutrons and it's the centrifuge that stops the matter from collapsing any further. Whether the matter collapses to a singularity, Planck density, quark or neutron degenerate matter, the edge of the ring is still r=0 and the interior of the ring is predicted to be r<0 which would imply the throat of a worm hole.

On the subject of degenerate states, quark stars have been predicted and there are a few candidates with mass equal to a neutron star but with half the radius. There is also a hypothetical preon which is predicted to be much smaller than a quark. This paper looks at a hypothetical preon star-

http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0410417

 

[Trenton]

Are there any theories that suggest that there are smaller degenerate states than the state reached in a neutron star? For example, is there a degenerate state for quarks? For strings? (should they exist)

Time dilation probably prevents a singularity - and there seems also to be a problem with the potential energy realized when matter collapses to a point. If you take a black hole of one solar mass (swartzchild radius 3Km), the gravity is about 1.5 trillion times that of Earth at the event horizon. Thus falling by 1 meter yeilds 15 terajoules per Kg which is 1/6000 of the mass energy equivelence. This is fine but further in the gravity is higher by the inverse square law and quickly reaches the point where each meter of fall realizes energy far greater than the mass energy equivelance. To get to zero meters an infinite amount of potential energy has been realized which strikes me as odd. And most probably it is even worse because the matter would be traveling so close to the speed of light that it would be trillions of times its rest mass which would presumably execerbate the effect. This is where time dilation comes in. Matter spiralling in would never actually reach the center. (come back Zeno - all is forgiven)