Why should rotating black holes emit particles?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the emission of particles from rotating black holes, particularly in relation to the uncertainty principle and Hawking radiation. Participants explore theoretical frameworks, including quantum mechanics and general relativity, and consider mechanisms like Penrose Pair Production in the context of black hole physics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the necessity of particle emission from rotating black holes as suggested by the uncertainty principle.
  • Another participant explains Hawking radiation as a mechanism for energy conservation in black holes, involving virtual particle pairs at the event horizon.
  • A different viewpoint asserts that all black holes, not just rotating ones, are expected to emit particles, with rotating black holes being more common.
  • Penrose Pair Production is introduced as a phenomenon that occurs more significantly in rotating black holes, particularly those with high spin, involving interactions with the photon sphere.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the relationship between rotating black holes and particle emission, with some asserting that all black holes radiate particles while others focus on the unique aspects of rotating black holes. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the implications of the uncertainty principle and the specific mechanisms at play.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference various theoretical concepts and mechanisms without reaching consensus on the necessity or implications of particle emission from rotating black holes. The discussion includes assumptions about energy conservation and the behavior of virtual particles, which may not be fully explored.

Confuses
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In a brief history of time it says theft 'according to the uncertainty principle rotating black holes should emit particles'. However I do not understand why rotating black holes need to emit particles according to the uncertainty principle.

I do understand why black holes emit particles it is just the rotating black holes and The uncertainty principle thing that I do not understand.

Thanks in advance.
 
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My understanding is that Hawking radiation is a theory used to explain how black holes conserve energy. For example, we think black holes grow in size as they consume matter. Any particle that enters the Schwarzschild radius (SR) of a black hole is absorbed. QM purposes that virtual particles in the quantum field 'pop' in and out of existence all the time, but that they come in particle/anti-particle pairs that quickly annihilate one another, thus conserving energy and momentum in the universe. Hawking used this notion to theorize that virtual pairs that happen to 'pop' into existence on the event horizon (SR), are split up and do not annihilate each other as they usually do. One particle 'falls' into the black hole, while the other escapes and appears as Hawking Radiation. Since the black hole grows fractionally by swallowing one particle, and since the other particle in the pair is emitted as radiation, energy and momentum are conserved.
 
quantumtoast said:
My understanding is that Hawking radiation is a theory used to explain how black holes conserve energy.
A black hole in General Relativity alone does not emit Hawking radiation and conserves energy.

Since the black hole grows fractionally by swallowing one particle, and since the other particle in the pair is emitted as radiation, energy and momentum are conserved.
Hawking radiation causes black holes to shrink.@Confuses: There is nothing special about rotating black holes. All black holes are assumed to radiate particles (mainly photons). Rotating black holes are just the most common type of them in space.
 
There is something called Penrose Pair Production (PPP) which occurs with static black holes but increases significantly for rotating black holes with high spin-

Penrose Pair Production (PPP) A variant of the classical Penrose process is the Penrose Pair Production. The mechanism is based on another ingredient, the photon sphere. Photons are instably trapped in the photon sphere. Other photons may now infall on radial null geodesics and hit these trapped photons. If the energy of the quanta exceeds the rest frame energy of about one MeV, gamma photons produce pairs of leptons. For rather large values of the black hole spin, a>0.7, the spherically symmetric photon sphere plunges into the oblate ergosphere. Then, the PPP is expected to occur dominantly. PPP is sketched in Fig. 3.14. Williams applied this model to explain the populations of ultrarelativistic electrons in the quasars 3C 279 and 3C 273.

'Magnetohydrodynamics on the Kerr Geometry' by A Mueller
http://www.wissenschaft-online.de/astrowissen/downloads/PhD/PhD_AMueller.pdf
pages 47 & 48
 
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