[Paper Review] Mass Inflation in Quantum Gravity

Ichiro Oda|ArXiv.org|Jan 28, 1997

Black Holes and Theoretical Physics4 references3 citations

TL;DR

This paper investigates mass inflation in Reissner-Nordström black holes using canonical quantum gravity formalism in spherical symmetry. It demonstrates that quantum gravity effects do not prevent mass inflation—similar to classical gravity—due to the interplay between ingoing radiation from past null infinity and backscattered outgoing flux, confirming the persistence of the mass inflation singularity in the quantum regime.

ABSTRACT

Using the canonical formalism for spherically symmetric black hole inside the apparent horizon we investigate the mass inflation in the Reissner-Nordstr$\ddot o$m black hole in the framework of quantum gravity. It is shown that like in classical gravity the combination of the effects of the influx coming from the past null infinity and the outflux backscattered by the black hole's curvature causes the mass inflation even in quantum gravity. The results indicate that the effects of quantum gravity neither alter the classical picture of the mass inflation nor prevent the formation of the mass inflation singularity.

Motivation & Objective

• To analyze the behavior of mass inflation in spherically symmetric black holes under quantum gravity formalism.
• To determine whether quantum gravitational effects alter or suppress the classical mass inflation phenomenon.
• To investigate the role of incoming radiation from past null infinity and curvature-induced backscattering in the quantum regime.
• To assess the stability of the mass inflation singularity under quantum corrections.

Proposed method

• Adopting the canonical formalism for spherically symmetric spacetimes inside the apparent horizon.
• Applying quantum gravity techniques to the Reissner-Nordström geometry, focusing on the interior region.
• Analyzing the dynamics of energy fluxes: ingoing from past null infinity and backscattered by spacetime curvature.
• Using the Hamiltonian constraint and canonical quantization to study the evolution of mass parameters.
• Comparing quantum results with classical mass inflation mechanisms to assess deviations.
• Focusing on the behavior of the mass function near the Cauchy horizon to detect inflationary divergence.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 Does quantum gravity prevent or modify the classical mass inflation mechanism in Reissner-Nordström black holes?
• RQ2 How do quantum corrections affect the accumulation of energy fluxes near the Cauchy horizon?
• RQ3 To what extent do the classical mechanisms—ingoing flux and backscattering—persist in the quantum regime?
• RQ4 Is the mass inflation singularity still formed when quantum gravitational effects are included?
• RQ5 Can the canonical quantization framework reproduce the classical mass inflation singularity in the quantum limit?

Key findings

• Mass inflation persists in the quantum gravity regime, just as in classical general relativity.
• The combination of ingoing radiation from past null infinity and curvature-induced backscattering remains the dominant driver of mass inflation.
• Quantum gravity effects do not alter the classical picture of mass inflation or prevent the formation of the singularity.
• The mass function diverges at the Cauchy horizon, confirming the existence of a strong curvature singularity.
• No evidence of quantum suppression or regularization of the mass inflation singularity was found in the canonical formalism used.
• The results support the robustness of the mass inflation phenomenon under quantization in spherically symmetric models.