The quantum emission spectra of rapidly-rotating Kerr black holes: discrete or continuous?

Abstract

Bekenstein and Mukhanov (BM) have suggested that, in a quantum theory of gravity, black holes may have discrete emission spectra. Using the time-energy uncertainty principle they have also shown that, for a (non-rotating) Schwarzschild black hole, the natural broadening $\delta\omega$ of the black-hole emission lines is expected to be small on the scale set by the characteristic frequency spacing $\Delta\omega$ of the spectral lines: $\zeta^{\text{Sch}}\equiv\delta\omega/\Delta\omega\ll1$. BM have therefore concluded that the expected discrete emission lines of the quantized Schwarzschild black hole are unlikely to overlap. In this paper we calculate the characteristic dimensionless ratio $\zeta(\bar a)\equiv\delta\omega/\Delta\omega$ for the predicted BM emission spectra of rapidly-rotating Kerr black holes (here $\bar a\equiv J/M^2$ is the dimensionless angular momentum of the black hole). It is shown that $\zeta(\bar a)$ is an increasing function of the black-hole angular momentum. In particular, we find that the quantum emission lines of Kerr black holes in the regime $\bar a\gtrsim 0.9$ are characterized by the dimensionless ratio $\zeta(\bar a)\gtrsim1$ and are therefore effectively blended together. Our results thus suggest that, even if the underlying mass (energy) spectrum of these rapidly-rotating Kerr black holes is fundamentally discrete as suggested by Bekenstein and Mukhanov, the natural broadening phenomenon (associated with the time-energy uncertainty principle) is expected to smear the black-hole radiation spectrum into a continuum.