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0horizon,%20and%20that%20other%20massive%20objects%20would%20also%20produce%20it%3F%20I%20find%20the%20idea%20disturbing%20that%20all%20massive%20objects%20would%20do%20this%20(causing%20their%20eventual%20evaporation%3F)%20without%20us%20understanding%20how%20the%20particles%20they%20consist%20of%20would%20decay.%20What%20would%20a%20bowling%20ball%20floating%20eternally%20in%20infinite%20space%20look%20like%20once%20half%20of%20its%20mass%20would%20have%20been%20radiated%20out%20via%20Hawking%20radiation%3F%E2%80%9D%0AOh,%20it%E2%80%99s%20disturbing%20alright,%20and%20the%20answer%20to%20all%20of%20your%20questions%20is,%20%E2%80%9CWe%20still%20aren%E2%80%99t%20sure.%E2%80%9D%20Let%E2%80%99s%20explore%20this%20topic%20as%20we%20consider%20why.%0A%0AFor%20the%20real%20black%20holes%20that%20exist%20or%20get%20created%20in%20our%20Universe,%20we%20can%20observe%20the%20radiation%20emitted%20by%20their%20surrounding%20matter,%20and%20the%20gravitational%20waves%20produced%20by%20the%20inspiral,%20merger,%20and%20ringdown.%20The%20electromagnetic%20radiation%20that%20we%20see%20solely%20originates%20from%20outside%20the%20event%20horizon%20itself;%20the%20Hawking%20radiation%20that%20black%20holes%20are%20predicted%20to%20emit%20is%20thus%20far%20unobservable%20in%20practice.%0ACredit:%20Aurore%20Simonnet/Sonoma%20State/Caltech/MIT/LIGO%0AHawking%20radiation%20is%20a%20fascinating%20phenomenon.%20It%20arises%20from%20the%20combination%20of%20two%20phenomena%20from%20very,%20very%20different%20areas%20of%20physics.%20First,%20in%20general%20relativity,%20we%20have%20the%20fact%20that%20space,%20at%20a%20fundamental%20level,%20has%20some%20very%20counterintuitive%20properties.%0A%09%E2%80%A2%09It%20isn%E2%80%99t%20static,%20but%20rather%20dynamic,%20as%20its%20properties%20change%20as%20energy-containing%20objects%20(including%20masses)%20both%20exist%20within%20it%20and%20move%20through%20it.%0A%09%E2%80%A2%09It%20isn%E2%80%99t%20universal,%20as%20a%20hypothetical%20observer%20sees%20the%20properties%20of%20space%20change%20dependent%20on%20their%20location.%0A%09%E2%80%A2%09And%20it%20isn%E2%80%99t%20absolute,%20as%20your%20motion%20through%20space%20alters%20the%20property%20of%20space%20that%20you%20perceive.%0AIf%20you%20moved%20far%20enough%20away%20from%20even%20a%20stupendously%20massive%20black%20hole,%20space%20would%20appear%20indistinguishable%20from%20flat,%20empty%20space;%20it%20would%20behave%20the%20way%20our%20familiar%20empty%20space%20does%20in%20a%20region%20where%20the%20curvature%20due%20to%20matter-and-energy%20was%20negligible.%0ABut%20if%20you%E2%80%99re%20very%20close%20to%20the%20event%20horizon%20of%20a%20black%20hole,%20space%20doesn%E2%80%99t%20appear%20indistinguishable%20from%20flat.%20Instead,%20the%20curvature%20of%20space%20will%20alter%20your%20path,%20even%20if%20you%E2%80%99re%20in%20uniform%20motion,%20to%20follow%20the%20curvature%20of%20space%20that%20the%20black%20hole%20induces.%20You%20can%20still%20find%20yourself%20in%20free-fall,%20of%20course,%20but%20the%20path%20you%20take%20will%20no%20longer%20be%20a%20straight%20line.%20Instead,%20you%E2%80%99ll%20notice%20that%20your%20motion%20follows%20a%20curved%20trajectory,%20owing%20to%20the%20gravitation%20of%20the%20black%20hole.%0A%0AThis%2020-year%20time-lapse%20of%20stars%20near%20the%20center%20of%20our%20galaxy%20comes%20from%20the%20ESO,%20published%20in%202018.%20Note%20how%20the%20resolution%20and%20sensitivity%20of%20the%20features%20sharpen%20and%20improve%20toward%20the%20end,%20all%20orbiting%20our%20galaxy%E2%80%99s%20(invisible)%20central%20supermassive%20black%20hole.%20The%20closer%20one%20gets%20to%20the%20black%20hole%E2%80%99s%20event%20horizon,%20the%20greater%20the%20gravitational%20accelerations%20one%20experiences,%20and%20the%20more%20severely%20the%20fabric%20of%20space%20is%20curved.%0ACredit:%20ESO/MPE%0ANow,%20we%20come%20to%20the%20second%20part:%20the%20fact%20that%20space%20is%20filled%20with%20quantum%20fields.%20For%20any%20observer%20in%20their%20own%20inertial%20reference%20frame%20(i.e.,%20in%20free-fall,%20with%20no%20external%20thrust%20or%20push%20acting%20on%20it),%20they%E2%80%99ll%20experience%20the%20quantum%20vacuum%20the%20same%20way%20we%20do:%20where%20you%20can%20extract%20things%20like%20particles%20or%20radiation%20from%20a%20sufficiently%20strong%20applied%20external%20field,%20or%20where%20you%20can%20observe%20subtle%20effects%20that%20belie%20its%20existence%20like%20the%20Casimir%20effect%20or%20the%20Lamb%20shift.%20Whether%20you%20were%20in%20free-fall%20very%20close%20to%20a%20black%20hole%20or%20very%20far%20away%20from%20it,%20you%E2%80%99d%20observe%20the%20same%20effects%20with%20the%20same%20magnitudes.%20So%20long%20as%20you%E2%80%99re%20in%20an%20inertial%20reference%20frame,%20there%E2%80%99s%20no%20difference%20that%20being%20close%20to%20or%20far%20from%20a%20black%20hole%20makes.%0ABut%20this%20is%20where%20it%20gets%20both%20tricky%20and%20interesting.%20An%20observer%20close%20to%20a%20black%20hole%20might%20see%20their%20quantum%20vacuum%20behaving%20identically%20to%20how%20an%20observer%20far%20from%20a%20black%20hole%20sees%20their%20own%20quantum%20vacuum,%20but%20if%20you%20ask%20either%20observer%20about%20the%20quantum%20vacuum%20at%20the%20other%20observer%E2%80%99s%20location,%20they%E2%80%99ll%20tell%20you%20that%20they%20see%20a%20different%20vacuum%20at%20that%20other%20location.%20This%20is%20one%20of%20the%20remarkable%20aspects%20of%20combining%20general%20relativity%20(with%20its%20curved%20background%20of%20space)%20with%20quantum%20field%20theory%20(which%20describes%20quantum%20fields):%20these%20two%20effects%20together%20show%20us%20that%20the%20quantum%20vacuum%20differs%20between%20any%20two%20regions%20where%20the%20curvature%20of%20space%20is%20different%20from%20one%20region%20to%20the%20other.%0A%0AThe%20event%20horizon%20of%20a%20black%20hole%20is%20a%20spherical%20or%20spheroidal%20region%20from%20which%20nothing,%20not%20even%20light,%20can%20escape.%20But%20outside%20the%20event%20horizon,%20the%20black%20hole%20is%20predicted%20to%20emit%20radiation.%20Hawking%E2%80%99s%201974%20work%20was%20the%20first%20to%20demonstrate%20this,%20but%20that%20work%20has%20also%20led%20to%20paradoxes%20that%20have%20yet%20to%20be%20resolved.%0ACredit:%20NASA/Dana%20Berry,%20Skyworks%20Digital%20Inc.%0AIn%201974,%20Hawking%20became%20the%20first%20person%20to%20put%20those%20facts%20together:%20that%20the%20quantum%20fields%20in%20a%20region%20of%20spacetime%20that%E2%80%99s%20highly%20curved%20(near%20a%20black%20hole)%20and%20that%E2%80%99s%20indistinguishable%20from%20flat%20(far%20from%20a%20black%20hole)%20lead%20to%20a%20special%20type%20of%20radiation.%20Acceleration%20is%20acceleration,%20and%20it%20was%20also%20discovered%20at%20around%20the%20same%20time%20that%20any%20uniform%20acceleration%20through%20space%20will%20produce%20a%20%E2%80%9Cbath%20of%20radiation%E2%80%9D%20for%20the%20observer,%20with%20the%20temperature%20and%20energy%20of%20the%20radiation%20dependent%20on%20the%20magnitude%20of%20the%20acceleration.%0A%0ABut%20this%20ties%20into%20the%20key%20realization%20that%20led%20Einstein%20to%20general%20relativity%20in%20the%20first%20place:%20the%20equivalence%20principle!%0AEinstein%20had%20already%20discovered%20the%20special%20theory%20of%20relativity,%20determining%20that%20the%20speed%20of%20light%20was%20the%20thing%20that%20was%20constant%20for%20all%20observers,%20rather%20than%20their%20perceptions%20of%20time%20and%20space.%20However,%20he%20recognized%20that%20his%20theory%20didn%E2%80%99t%20incorporate%20gravitation,%20but%20only%20motion.%20But%20since%20gravity%20is%20a%20real%20phenomenon%20in%20our%20Universe,%20Einstein%20began%20thinking%20about%20gravity%20as%20a%20form%20of%20acceleration.%20He%20asked%20himself,%20as%20a%20hypothetical,%20what%20the%20difference%20would%20be%20between%20two%20observers%20that%20were%20each%20in%20a%20locked,%20windowless%20room,%20where%20one%20was%20stationary%20on%20the%20surface%20of%20the%20Earth%20and%20the%20other%20was%20accelerating%20upward,%20due%20to%20some%20sort%20of%20thrust,%20at%20the%20same%20magnitude%20that%20Earth%E2%80%99s%20gravity%20accelerates%20objects%20at%20its%20surface.%0AThe%20identical%20behavior%20of%20a%20ball%20falling%20to%20the%20floor%20in%20an%20accelerated%20rocket%20(left)%20and%20on%20Earth%20(right)%20is%20a%20demonstration%20of%20Einstein%E2%80%99s%20equivalence%20principle.%20If%20inertial%20mass%20and%20gravitational%20mass%20are%20identical,%20there%20will%20be%20no%20difference%20between%20these%20two%20scenarios.%20This%20has%20been%20verified%20to%20better%20than%20~1%20part%20in%20one%20trillion%20for%20matter%20through%20torsion%20balance%20experiments,%20and%20was%20the%20thought%20(Einstein%20called%20it%20%E2%80%9Chis%20happiest%20thought%E2%80%9D)%20that%20led%20Einstein%20to%20develop%20his%20general%20theory%20of%20relativity.%20Recently,%20the%20ALPHA-g%20experiment%20confirmed%20that%20this%20is%20true%20for%20antimatter%20as%20well.%0ACredit:%20Markus%20Poessel/Wikimedia%20commons;%20retouched%20by%20Pbroks13%0AEinstein%20swiftly%20realized%20that,%20to%20the%20observer%20inside,%20there%20was%20no%20difference.%20He%20later%20referred%20to%20this%20as%20his%20happiest%20thought,%20noting%20that%20it%20had%20him%20so%20excited%20that%20he%20didn%E2%80%99t%20sleep%20a%20wink%20for%20the%20next%20three%20nights.%20This%20principle,%20known%20as%20Einstein%E2%80%99s%20equivalence%20principle,%20paved%20the%20way%20for%20general%20relativity.%20Later,%20it%20would%20hold%20special%20relevance%20for%20the%20phenomenon%20of%20Hawking%20radiation,%20as%20if%20an%20accelerated%20observer%20in%20empty%20space%20experienced%20a%20bath%20of%20uniform%20radiation,%20then%20an%20observer%20who%20accelerated%20due%20to%20their%20close%20proximity%20to%20a%20black%20hole%20should%20also%20experience%20a%20bath%20of%20uniform%20radiation.%20Moreover,%20the%20closer%20you%20got%20to%20a%20black%20hole%E2%80%99s%20event%20horizon,%20the%20greater%20your%20acceleration,%20and%20hence,%20the%20more%20energetic%20the%20radiation%20that%20you%E2%80%99d%20experience%20would%20be.%0AThink%20about%20what%20this%20means.%0A%09%E2%80%A2%09Far%20away%20from%20the%20black%20hole%E2%80%99s%20event%20horizon,%20there%E2%80%99s%20practically%20no%20acceleration,%20and%20so%20practically%20no%20energetic%20radiation%20would%20exist.%0A%09%E2%80%A2%09As%20you%20start%20to%20approach%20the%20black%20hole%E2%80%99s%20event%20horizon,%20your%20acceleration%20increases,%20and%20so%20you%20begin%20to%20see%20more%20abundant%20radiation%20that%E2%80%99s%20greater%20in%20energy.%0A%09%E2%80%A2%09And%20as%20you%20are%20about%20to%20reach%20the%20event%20horizon,%20your%20acceleration%20increases%20still%20further,%20and%20so%20the%20radiation%20reaches%20its%20peak%20in%20both%20flux%20and%20energy.%0AJust%20as%20the%20curvature%20of%20space%20increases,%20so%20does%20your%20acceleration%20toward%20the%20central%20region%20of%20a%20black%20hole.%20And,%20alongside%20it,%20the%20amount%20of%20radiation%20in%20that%20region%20of%20space%20increases%20as%20well.%0ABoth%20inside%20and%20outside%20the%20event%20horizon%20of%20a%20Schwarzschild%20black%20hole,%20space%20flows%20like%20either%20a%20moving%20walkway%20or%20a%20waterfall,%20depending%20on%20how%20you%20want%20to%20visualize%20it.%20At%20the%20event%20horizon,%20even%20if%20you%20ran%20(or%20swam)%20at%20the%20speed%20of%20light,%20there%20would%20be%20no%20overcoming%20the%20flow%20of%20spacetime,%20which%20drags%20you%20into%20the%20singularity%20at%20the%20center.%20Outside%20the%20event%20horizon,%20the%20gravitational%20acceleration%20decreases%20the%20farther%20away%20you%20position%20yourself.%0ACredit:%20Andrew%20Hamilton/JILA/University%20of%20Colorado%0AThere%20are%20several%20important%20things%20to%20notice%20about%20this%20picture%20we%E2%80%99re%20creating%20in%20our%20heads.%20First%20off,%20there%20is%20no%20mention%20of%20the%20%E2%80%9Cparticle-antiparticle%20pairs%E2%80%9D%20analogy%20so%20often%20used%20by%20Hawking,%20as%20that%20flawed%20analogy%20is%20irrelevant%20to%20the%20production%20of%20the%20radiation.%20Second,%20the%20Hawking%20radiation%20that%20is%20produced%20isn%E2%80%99t%20confined%20to%20being%20right%20at%20the%20event%20horizon,%20but%20rather%20should%20emerge%20from%20any%20region%20of%20space%20that%20has%20sufficient%20spatial%20curvature,%20or%20that%20induces%20strong%20enough%20accelerations.%20And%20third,%20just%20as%20Einstein%20noted%20one%20couldn%E2%80%99t%20tell%20the%20difference%20between%20being%20in%20a%20windowless%20room%20that%20accelerated%20due%20to%20thrust%20versus%20one%20that%20accelerated%20due%20to%20gravity,%20there%20should%20also%20be%20no%20difference%20between%20the%20space%20outside%20of%20a%20black%20hole%20and%20the%20space%20at%20the%20same%20distance%20away%20from%20any%20other%20equivalently-massed%20object.%0A%0AThat%20last%20part%20is%20a%20bit%20counterintuitive%20to%20many,%20but%20it%E2%80%99s%20true!%0AIf%20you%E2%80%99re%20located%20a%20certain%20distance%20away%20from%20a%20mass%20(which%20can%20also%20have%20charge%20and/or%20angular%20momentum),%20then%20that%20mass%20could%20be:%0A%09%E2%80%A2%09a%20point%20(like%20a%20black%20hole),%0A%09%E2%80%A2%09a%20very%20compact%20but%20non-collapsed%20object%20(like%20a%20neutron%20star),%0A%09%E2%80%A2%09a%20less%20compact%20object%20(like%20a%20white%20dwarf),%0A%09%E2%80%A2%09or%20a%20non-compact%20object%20(like%20a%20star),%0Aand%20you%20would%20experience%20the%20same%20acceleration%20at%20that%20location,%20with%20the%20same%20spatial%20curvature.%20So%20long%20as%20the%20masses%20of%20those%20different%20objects%20are%20identical%20and%20your%20distance%20from%20the%20center-of-that-mass%20is%20identical%20(and%20you%E2%80%99re%20not%20physically%20inside%20any%20part%20of%20the%20object%20itself),%20you%20shouldn%E2%80%99t%20experience%20any%20detectable%20difference%20between%20these%20scenarios.%0AAlthough%20the%20amount%20that%20spacetime%20is%20curved%20and%20distorted%20depends%20on%20how%20dense%20the%20object%20in%20question%20is%20when%20you%E2%80%99re%20close%20to%20the%20object%E2%80%99s%20edge,%20the%20size%20and%20volume%20that%20the%20object%20occupies%20is%20unimportant%20far%20away%20from%20the%20mass%20itself.%20For%20a%20black%20hole,%20neutron%20star,%20white%20dwarf,%20or%20a%20star%20like%20our%20Sun,%20the%20spatial%20curvature%20is%20identical%20at%20sufficiently%20large%20radii.%20However,%20close%20to%20the%20event%20horizon%20of%20a%20black%20hole,%20more%20severe%20curvatures%20are%20achieved%20than%20anywhere%20else.%20Far%20away%20from%20all%20of%20these%20sources,%20spacetime%20is%20asymptotically%20flat,%20but%20neither%20perfectly%20flat%20nor%20truly%20empty.%0ACredit:%20OpenStax%20University%20Physics%0AThat%E2%80%99s%20what%20made%20this%202023%20study%20so%20interesting:%20the%20authors%20contended%20that%20if%20black%20holes%20produced%20Hawking%20radiation,%20then%20so%20should%20neutron%20stars,%20white%20dwarfs,%20normal%20stars,%20and%20any%20other%20object.%20They%20argued%20that%20the%20only%20role%20the%20event%20horizon%20itself%20%E2%80%94%20found%20only%20in%20black%20holes%20and%20never%20in%20any%20other%20object%20%E2%80%94%20plays%20is%20to%20serve%20as%20a%20boundary%20for%20where%20radiation%20can%20be%20captured%20versus%20where%20that%20radiation%20escapes%20from.%20The%20event%20horizon%20serves%20as%20the%20boundary%20for%20a%20black%20hole;%20the%20neutron%20star%E2%80%99s%20surface%20serves%20as%20the%20boundary%20for%20a%20neutron%20star;%20the%20outermost%20layer%20of%20a%20white%20dwarf%20serves%20as%20the%20boundary%20for%20a%20white%20dwarf;%20the%20end%20of%20a%20star%E2%80%99s%20photosphere%20serves%20as%20the%20boundary%20for%20a%20star.%0AIn%20all%20cases,%20the%20authors%20argued,%20there%20would%20still%20be%20energetic%20radiation%20that%20was%20produced%20from%20the%20curved%20spacetime%20around%20the%20mass.%20The%20fraction%20of%20that%20radiation%20that%20escaped%20from%20a%20massive%20object,%20emitted%20into%20the%20greater%20Universe%20as%20Hawking%20radiation,%20would%20depend%20solely%20on%20the%20mass%20and%20radius%20of%20the%20object%20itself,%20with%20nothing%20notable%20being%20special%20about%20the%20event%20horizon%E2%80%99s%20boundary%20in%20particular.%0AJust%20as%20the%20Schwinger%20effect%20allows%20you%20to%20produce%20real%20particles%20that%20carry%20real%20energy%20from%20a%20region%20of%20space%20that%20possesses%20a%20sufficiently%20strong%20electric%20field,%20the%20gravitational%20effect%20of%20Hawking%20radiation%20around%20a%20black%20hole%20should%20enable%20the%20production%20of%20real%20radiation,%20with%20the%20amount%20of%20radiation%20that%20escapes%20depending%20only%20on%20the%20strength%20of%20the%20gravitational%20field%20over%20the%20relevant%20regions%20of%20space.%0AThe%20event%20horizon%20of%20a%20black%20hole%20has%20been%20considered%20an%20important%20factor%20in%20the%20generation%20of%20Hawking%20radiation%20around%20black%20holes%20in%20many%20previous%20studies,%20but%20a%20new%20one%20from%202023%20suggests%20that%20this%20radiation%20can%20still%20be%20generated%20outside%20of%20an%20event%20horizon%20even%20if%20the%20%E2%80%9Chorizon%E2%80%9D%20itself%20does%20nothing%20more%20than%20forbid%20light%20from%20escaping%20from%20within%20it.%0ACredit:%20M.F.%20Wondrak%20et%20al.,%20Phys.%20Rev.%20Lett.%20accepted,%202023%0AIt%E2%80%99s%20a%20remarkable%20set%20of%20thoughts%20that%20leads%20to%20fascinating%20consequences,%20if%20true.%20As%20the%20same%20team%20of%20authors%20showed%20in%20a%20follow-up%20paper%20in%20October%20of%202024,%20if%20the%20spacetime%20curvature%20alone%20(and%20not%20the%20presence%20of%20an%20event%20horizon)%20is%20all%20that%E2%80%99s%20required%20to%20produce%20real,%20energy-carrying%20Hawking%20radiation,%20then%20compact%20stellar%20remnants%20such%20as%20neutrons%20stars%20and%20white%20dwarfs%20will%20eventually%20decay.%20The%20timescale%20for%20an%20object%20to%20decay%20(t)%20is%20related%20to%20the%20mass%20density%20(%CF%81)%20by%20the%20relation%20t%20~%20%CF%81-(3/2),%20meaning%20that%20white%20dwarfs%20require%20a%20much%20longer%20timescale%20for%20decay%20than%20black%20holes%20do,%20but%20a%20neutron%20star,%20whose%20outer%20surface%20is%20only%20modestly%20larger%20than%20an%20equal-massed%20black%20hole%E2%80%99s%20event%20horizon,%20have%20a%20maximum%20age%20of%20~1068%20years:%20comparable%20to%20the%20lifetimes%20of%20the%20lowest-mass%20black%20holes.%0AThis%20would%20lead,%20potentially,%20to%20enormous%20consequences%20for%20all%20objects%20in%20the%20Universe:%20from%20the%20cosmic%20to%20the%20quantum.%20On%20similar%20timescales,%20the%20lowest-mass%20black%20holes,%20typical%20neutron%20stars,%20and%20even%20the%20proton%20itself%20should%20decay:%20around%20~1067%20years.%20White%20dwarfs%20should%20live%20longer:%20more%20like%20~1080%20years,%20while%20Earth%E2%80%99s%20Moon%20(smaller%20than%20most%20white%20dwarfs%20but%20far%20less%20dense)%20would%20take%20more%20like%20~1090%20years.%20The%20heaviest%20supermassive%20black%20holes%20require%20around%20~10103%20years,%20but%20something%20puffy%20and%20diffuse,%20like%20an%20interstellar%20gas%20cloud%20or,%20even%20worse,%20a%20dark%20matter%20halo,%20would%20require%20even%20longer%20timescales:%20between%2010120%20and%2010140%20years.%0AThe%20evaporation%20timescales%20(y-axis)%20versus%20the%20mass%20density%20of%20the%20object%20in%20question%20(x-axis),%20with%20various%20notable%20points%20shown%20corresponding%20to%20a%20variety%20of%20quantum%20and%20cosmic%20entities.%0ACredit:%20H.%20Falcke,%20M.F.%20Wondrak,%20%26%20W.D.%20van%20Suijlekom,%20Journal%20of%20Cosmology%20and%20Astroparticle%20Physics%20(submitted),%202024%0AHowever,%20there%20are%20deep%20fundamental%20questions%20about%20the%20need%20for%20a%20horizon%20to%20radiate.%20For%20one,%20if%20the%20object%20radiates%20but%20lacks%20a%20horizon,%20where%20does%20the%20energy%20for%20the%20radiation%20come%20from%3F%20In%20general%20relativity,%20you%20are%20required%20to%20be%20able%20to%20trace%20the%20world-lines%20of%20each%20particle%20not%20just%20forward%20in%20time%20from%20some%20moment,%20but%20backward,%20too.%20For%20a%20black%20hole,%20that%20leads%20all%20outgoing%20radiation%20%E2%80%94%20even%20radiation%20that%E2%80%99s%20far%20from%20the%20event%20horizon%20%E2%80%94%20back%20to%20the%20event%20horizon%20at%20some%20point.%20For%20a%20horizonless%20object,%20that%20means%20the%20energy%20must%20come%20from%20some%20other%20source:%20the%20gravitational%20field%20or%20from%20composite%20particles%20(like%20protons)%20within%20the%20object.%20Once%20the%20gravitational%20field%E2%80%99s%20extractable%20energy%20is%20exhausted,%20then%20this%20relies%20on%20things%20like%20%E2%80%9Cproton%20decay%E2%80%9D%20actually%20being%20possible%20within%20our%20Universe,%20which%20has%20never%20been%20demonstrated.%0AWhen%20an%20object%20has%20a%20solid%20surface,%20the%20geometry%20(spatial%20curvature)%20meets%20the%20source%20(the%20edge%20of%20the%20object),%20and%20the%20energy%20has%20a%20finite%20lower%20bound.%20It%E2%80%99s%20the%20presence%20of%20the%20event%20horizon,%20and%20specifically%20the%20fact%20that%20the%20black%20hole%20has%20an%20interior,%20that%20removes%20that%20finite%20lower%20bound.%20This%20raises%20the%20question%20of%20whether%20this%20decay%20will%20actually%20proceed%20without%20such%20a%20horizon.%20Others%20have%20noted%20that%20without%20a%20horizon%20%E2%80%94%20or,%20at%20least,%20an%20apparent%20horizon%20%E2%80%94%20the%20effects%20should%20be%20exponentially%20expressed.%20Only%20because%20the%20authors%20consider%20the%20radiation%20to%20emerge%20from%20a%20massless%20scalar%20(easy%20to%20calculate,%20but%20not%20among%20the%20known%20particles%20in%20the%20Standard%20Model)%20is%20that%20exponential%20suppression%20avoided.%0AThe%20amount%20of%20radiation%20emission%20(y-axis)%20from%20around%20a%20black%20hole%20whose%20event%20horizon%20begins%20at%20%E2%80%9C2%E2%80%9D%20on%20the%20x-axis,%20shown%20with%20the%20black%20dotted%20line%20and%20the%20associated%20curve,%20versus%20for%20solid%20objects%20that%20terminate%20at%20specific%20radii%20noted%20by%20the%20various%20solid%20lines.%20In%20all%20cases,%20sufficiently%20far%20from%20the%20object,%20the%20predictions%20for%20radiation%20flux%20match,%20but%20these%20may%20be%20dependent%20on%20the%20authors%E2%80%99%20assumptions.%0ACredit:%20H.%20Falcke,%20M.F.%20Wondrak,%20%26%20W.D.%20van%20Suijlekom,%20Journal%20of%20Cosmology%20and%20Astroparticle%20Physics%20(submitted),%202024%0AThese%20arguments%20aren%E2%80%99t%20necessarily%20dealbreakers,%20though;%20perhaps%20the%20authors%20are%20correct,%20after%20all.%20Considering%20a%20massless%20scalar%20may%20not%20be%20problematic,%20since%20the%20physically%20real%20particles%20that%20overwhelmingly%20compose%20Hawking%20radiation%20are%20photons%20and%20gravitons:%20massless%20(non-scalar)%20particles%20in%20their%20own%20right,%20that%20may%20well%20behave%20just%20as%20a%20massless%20scalar%20does.%20The%20way%20black%20holes%20are%20thought%20to%20get%20lighter%20relies%20on%20physics%20that%20happens%20beneath%20the%20event%20horizon;%20can%20normal%20masses%20without%20horizons%20do%20something%20that%E2%80%99s%20equivalent%3F%20It%E2%80%99s%20not%20an%20answered%20question;%20it%E2%80%99s%20one%20that%20requires%20more%20work,%20as%20the%20answers%20are%20unknown%20to%20all%20at%20this%20point.%0AHowever,%20the%20arguments%20on%20both%20sides%20of%20the%20issue%20remain%20compelling,%20and%20it%20will%20take%20a%20significant%20amount%20of%20future%20work%20to%20determine%20whether%20non-black%20hole%20evaporation%20truly%20occurs.%20Perhaps%20the%20most%20difficult%20task%20associated%20with%20the%20endeavor%20will%20involve%20working%20out%20whether%20proton%20decay%20can%20actually%20occur;%20with%20only%20~1058%20protons%20in%20our%20entire%20Solar%20System,%20it%20would%20take%20billions%20of%20years%20of%20continuously%20monitoring%20every%20single%20one%20just%20to%20have%20a%20chance%20at%20catching%20one%20suspected%20decay%20event.%20Hawking%20radiation%20is%20a%20certainty%20for%20black%20holes,%20but%20we%20must%20now%20strongly%20consider%20the%20possibility%20that%20its%20effects%20apply%20to%20potentially%20even%20all%20massive%20objects.%20How%20profound%20is%20this%20consideration%3F%20The%20ultimate%20stability%20of%20practically%20everything%20in%20the%20Universe%20hangs%20in%20the%20balance.%0ASend%20in%20your%20Ask%20Ethan%20questions%20to%20startswithabang%20at%20gmail%20dot%20com!%0AIn%20this%20article%0Aparticle%20physics%0ASpace%20%26%20Astrophysics%0ASi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