Is the firewall consistent?: Gedanken experiments on black hole complementarity and firewall proposal

Oct, 2012
39 pages
Published in:
  • JCAP 01 (2013) 005
e-Print:

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Abstract: (arXiv)
In this paper, we discuss the black hole complementarity and the firewall proposal at length. Black hole complementarity is inevitable if we assume the following five things: unitarity, entropy-area formula, existence of an information observer, semi-classical quantum field theory for an asymptotic observer, and the general relativity for an in-falling observer. However, large N rescaling and the AMPS argument show that black hole complementarity is inconsistent. To salvage the basic philosophy of the black hole complementarity, AMPS introduced a firewall around the horizon. According to large N rescaling, the firewall should be located close to the apparent horizon. We investigate the consistency of the firewall with the two critical conditions: the firewall should be near the time-like apparent horizon and it should not affect the future infinity. Concerning this, we have introduced a gravitational collapse with a false vacuum lump which can generate a spacetime structure with disconnected apparent horizons. This reveals a situation that there is a firewall outside of the event horizon, while the apparent horizon is absent. Therefore, the firewall, if it exists, not only does modify the general relativity for an in-falling observer, but also modify the semi-classical quantum field theory for an asymptotic observer.
Note:
  • 40 pages, 12 figures. Including of a review of verbatim material from arXiv:0907.0677
  • gravitation: collapse
  • black hole: horizon
  • black hole: entropy
  • expansion 1/N
  • false vacuum
  • unitarity