Quantum gravitational dust collapse does not result in a black hole

Quantum gravity suggests that the paradox recently put forward by Almheiri et. al. (AMPS) can be resolved if matter does not undergo continuous collapse to a singularity but condenses on the apparent horizon. One can then expect a quasi-static object to form even after the gravitational field has overcome any degeneracy pressure of the matter fields. We consider dust collapse. If the collapse terminates on the apparent horizon, the Misner-Sharp mass function of the dust ball is predicted and we construct static solutions with no tangential pressure that would represent such a compact object. The collapse wave functions indicate that there will be processes by which energy extraction from the center occurs. These leave behind a negative point mass at the center which contributes to the total energy of the system but has no effect on the the energy density of the dust ball. The solutions describe a compact object whose boundary lies outside its Schwarzschild radius and which is hardly distinguishable from a neutron star.Comment: 12 pages, no figures. Title changed. Discussion added. Version to appear in Nucl. Phys.

Radiation flux and spectrum in the Vaidya collapse model

We consider the quantization of a massless scalar field, using the geometric optics approximation, in the background spacetime of a collapsing spherical self-similar Vaidya star, which forms a black hole or a naked singularity. We show that the outgoing radiation flux of the quantized scalar field diverges on the Cauchy horizon. The spectrum of the produced scalar partcles is non-thermal when the background develops a naked singularity. These results are analogous to those obtained for the scalar quantization on a self-similar dust cloud.Comment: 10 pages, Latex Fil

Quantizing Gravitational Collapse

I summarize some results obtained from a canonical quantization of gravitational collapse. The quantization is carried out in Kuchar variables on the LeMaitre-Tolman-Bondi family of spacetimes. I show how mass quantization, the black hole entropy and Hawking radiation may be understood in these models. Hawking radiation is obtained in the WKB approximation but the first order quantum gravity correction makes the near-horizon spectrum non-thermal, suggesting that unitarity is preserved. The quantization may be used to study quantum gravity effects in collapse leading to the formation of both covered and naked singularities.Comment: 7 pages, LaTeX. Contribution to the proceedings of QTS3, held the University of Cincinnati, September 10-14, 200

Canonical Quantization of Spherically Symmetric Dust Collapse

Quantum gravity effects are likely to play a crucial role in determining the outcome of gravitational collapse during its final stages. In this contribution we will outline a canonical quantization of the LeMaitre-Tolman-Bondi models, which describe the collapse of spherical, inhomogeneous, non-rotating dust. Although there are many models of gravitational collapse, this particular class of models stands out for its simplicity and the fact that both black holes and naked singularity end states may be realized on the classical level, depending on the initial conditions. We will obtain the appropriate Wheeler-DeWitt equation and then solve it exactly, after regularization on a spatial lattice. The solutions describe Hawking radiation and provide an elegant microcanonical description of black hole entropy, but they raise other questions, most importantly concerning the nature of gravity's fundamental degrees of freedom.Comment: 19 pages no figures. Contribution to a festschrift in honor of Joshua N. Goldber