Black Hole insights may be found through String Theory

Black holes are one of the most fascinating and puzzling objects ever observed in our universe.  While science has provided us with many pieces to the Black Hole and gravity puzzles, we remain unable to explain what is at their centers, and how they exist at all.  However, a recent study performed at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) by their Department of Physics and Astronomy using String Theory may be able to provide new insight into the long-standing question, “What is a Black Hole?”.

The new research centers around topological solitons which are described as occurring when two adjoining structures or spaces are in some way “out of phase” with each other in ways that make a seamless transition between them impossible.  In other words, if two or more fundamental particles interact across dimensions, that can cause a defect in what we call space-time.  This interaction is also referred to as a topological defect or topological star.

Topological solitons are merely hypothetical at this point and only exist as constructs in the world of theoretical mathematics using String Theory (String Theory also posits that there are 11 dimensions, not the standard 4 we are able to sense, and uses these extensively within its mathematical theorems).  The fascinating part of this study is scientists have spent years working with String Theory to attempt to tether its complex theoretical mathematics with an actual real-world phenomenon and through their simulations with this research may have found one.

The JHU team has used simulations to show that topological solitons would appear “remarkably similar to black holes in apparent size and scattering properties, while being smooth and horizonless”.  These hypothetical objects would look and act very similar to black holes and since those have been proven to exist it allows us to imagine and speculate that topological solitons may exist as well. 

Black holes were originally theorized by physicists in the early 20th century during their early work on a unified theory of gravity.  Black Holes as a concept started merely as products of mathematical equations and scientific imagination.  Very few people at the time had any notion or belief that Black Holes may actually exist in our universe.  

A century later, scientists continue to find important pieces to the elusive gravity and Black Hole puzzle.  Science have proven that Black Holes exist in our world, and we have been provided with a stunning visual representation of one of them that resides in another galaxy.  

We have learned that Black Holes have many defining and knowable features.  The most popular being, they have extremely strong gravitational fields and are characterized by having an edge or outer boundary called an event horizon. The event horizon becomes its boundary line as any object that gets too close to a Black Hole and crosses this line or horizon is trapped for forever. As there is no known object that has the speed to counteract a Black Hole’s gigantic gravitational pull at that distance, nothing can escape falling to its center.

Since nothing can escape a Black Hole once crossing its event horizon, there is no known way to determine exactly what lies at its center.  We currently label the inner region or center of a black hole a “singularity”.  Singularity is used in science and mathematics to describe a point in space of infinite density and zero volume where the laws of physics as we currently understand them break down.  The term singularity is considered a scientific placeholder, used primarily in mathematics to balance equations, as it lacks a sufficient answer but remains the status quo until better information becomes available.  Since the likelihood of exploring a black hole anytime soon is very small, we will need to continue to rely on the imaginative and innovative ideas put forth by theoretical scientists.

By building detailed mathematical and simulation models of how topological solitons would appear in space, these scientists have revealed that they behave very similar in appearance to observed black holes.  This was a key breakthrough that can allow other scientists to use this information for additional studies as they have an observational reference point to use in the physical universe.

And while topological solitons bear a very close resemblance to black holes, they do also have some differences such as not being guaranteed to contain an extreme gravitational field.  These objects are like wrinkles or knots in space-time due to multi-dimensional particle interactions and may not contain a lot of compressed matter which could cause them to have a much weaker gravitational field than a black hole.   

As a result, topological solitons could theoretically emit light and gravitational waves which may allow for detection in future experiments.  Scientists could one-day look for these signatures to see if they do exist in the universe.  While those soliton searches likely will not occur anytime soon, the models produced in this study have the potential to provide helpful information to near future studies involving black holes whether they are theoretical or observational in nature.

The more ideas, theories and mathematics mankind has surrounding black holes, the better chance we have of figuring out what lies at their centers.  Scientists will continue to push the boundaries of theoretical mathematics and computer simulations and every day we get just a little bit closer to providing an answer to the question “What is a black hole?”.