arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T. P. Singh.
It is shown that linearized gravitational radiation confined in a cavity can achieve thermal equilibrium if the mean density of the radiation and the size of the cavity satisfy certain constraints.
It is proposed that the Schrodinger equation for a free point particle has non-linear corrections which depend on the mass of the particle. It is assumed that the corrections become extremely small when the mass is much smaller or much larger than a critical value (the critical value being related to but smaller than Planck mass). The corrections become significant when the mass is close to this critical value and could play a role in explaining wave-function collapse. It appears that such corrections are not ruled out by present day experimental tests of the Schrodinger equation. Corrections to the energy levels of a harmonic oscillator are calculated.
In a previous paper we have set up the Wheeler-DeWitt equation which describes the quantum general relativistic collapse of a spherical dust cloud. In the present paper we specialize this equation to the case of matter perturbations around a black hole, and show that in the WKB approximation, the wave-functional describes an eternal black hole in equilibrium with a thermal bath at Hawking temperature.
In a recent paper we have suggested that a formulation of quantum mechanics should exist, which does not require the concept of time, and that the appropriate mathematical language for such a formulation is noncommutative differential geometry. In the present paper we discuss this formulation for the free point particle, by introducing a commutation relation for a set of noncommuting coordinates. The sought for background independent quantum mechanics is derived from this commutation relation for the coordinates. We propose that the basic equations are invariant under automorphisms which map one set of coordinates to another- this is a natural generalization of diffeomorphism invariance when one makes a transition to noncommutative geometry. The background independent description becomes equivalent to standard quantum mechanics if a spacetime manifold exists, because of the proposed automorphism invariance. The suggested basic equations also give a quantum gravitational description of the free particle.
Spherically symmetric, null dust clouds, like their time-like counterparts, may collapse classically into black holes or naked singularities depending on their initial conditions. We consider the Hamiltonian dynamics of the collapse of an arbitrary distribution of null dust, expressed in terms of the physical radius, $R$, the null coordinates, $V$ for a collapsing cloud or $U$ for an expanding cloud, the mass function, $m$, of the null matter, and their conjugate momenta. This description is obtained from the ADM description by a Kuchař-type canonical transformation. The constraints are linear in the canonical momenta and Dirac's constraint quantization program is implemented. Explicit solutions the constraints are obtained for both expanding and contracting null dust clouds with arbitrary mass functions.
The rules of quantum mechanics require a time coordinate for their formulation. However, a notion of time is in general possible only when a classical spacetime geometry exists. Such a geometry is itself produced by classical matter sources. Thus it could be said that the currently known formulation of quantum mechanics pre-assumes the presence of classical matter fields. A more fundamental formulation of quantum mechanics should exist, which avoids having to use a notion of time. In this paper we discuss as to how such a fundamental formulation could be constructed for single particle, non-relativistic quantum mechanics. We argue that there is an underlying non-linear theory of quantum gravity, to which both standard quantum mechanics and classical general relativity are approximations. The timeless formulation of quantum mechanics follows from the underlying theory when the mass of the particle is much smaller than Planck mass. On the other hand, when the particle's mass is much larger than Planck mass, spacetime emerges and the underlying theory should reduce to classical mechanics and general relativity. We also suggest that noncommutative differential geometry is a possible candidate for describing this underlying theory.
There are known models of spherical gravitational collapse in which the collapse ends in a naked shell-focusing singularity for some initial data. If a massless scalar field is quantized on the classical background provided by such a star, it is found that the outgoing quantum flux of the scalar field diverges in the approach to the Cauchy horizon. We argue that the semiclassical approximation (i.e. quantum field theory on a classical curved background) used in these analyses ceases to be valid about one Planck time before the epoch of naked singularity formation, because by then the curvature in the central region of the star reaches Planck scale. It is shown that during the epoch in which the semiclassical approximation is valid, the total emitted energy is about one Planck unit, and is not divergent. We also argue that back reaction in this model does not become important so long as gravity can be treated classically. It follows that the further evolution of the star will be determined by quantum gravitational effects, and without invoking quantum gravity it is not possible to say whether the star radiates away on a short time scale or settles down into a black hole state.
LeMa\^ıtre-Tolman-Bondi models of spherical dust collapse have been used and continue to be used extensively to study various stellar collapse scenarios. It is by now well-known that these models lead to the formation of black holes and naked singularities from regular initial data. The final outcome of the collapse, particularly in the event of naked singularity formation, depends very heavily on quantum effects during the final stages. These quantum effects cannot generally be treated semi-classically as quantum fluctuations of the gravitational field are expected to dominate before the final state is reached. We present a canonical reduction of LeMa\^ıtre-Tolman-Bondi space-times describing the marginally bound collapse of inhomogeneous dust, in which the physical radius, $R$, the proper time of the collapsing dust, $τ$, and the mass function, $F$, are the canonical coordinates, $R(r)$, $τ(r)$ and $F(r)$ on the phase space. Dirac's constraint quantization leads to a simple functional (Wheeler-DeWitt) equation. The equation is solved and the solution can be employed to study some of the effects of quantum gravity during gravitational collapse with different initial conditions.
There are models of gravitational collapse in classical general relativity which admit the formation of naked singularities as well as black holes. These include fluid models as well as models with scalar fields as matter. Even if fluid models were to be regarded as unphysical in their matter content, the remaining class of models (based on scalar fields) generically admit the formation of visible regions of finite but arbitrarily high curvature. Hence it is of interest to ask, from the point of view of astrophysics, as to what a stellar collapse leading to a naked singularity (or to a visible region of very high curvature) will look like, to a far away observer. The emission of energy during such a process may be divided into three phases - (i) the classical phase, during which matter and gravity can both be treated according to the laws of classical physics, (ii) the semiclassical phase, when gravity is treated classically but matter behaves as a quantum field, and (iii) the quantum gravitational phase. In this review, we first give a summary of the status of naked singularities in classical relativity, and then report some recent results comparing the semiclassical phase of black holes with the semiclassical phase of spherical collapse leading to a naked singularity. In particular, we ask how the quantum particle creation during the collapse leading to a naked singularity compares with the Hawking radiation from a star collapsing to form a black hole. It turns out that there is a fundamental difference between the two cases. A spherical naked star emits only about one Planck energy during its semiclassical phase, and the further evolution can only be determined by the laws of quantum gravity. This contrasts with the semiclassical evaporation of a black hole.
Recently the energy emission from a naked singularity forming in spherical dust collapse has been investigated. This radiation is due to the particle creation in a curved spacetime. In this discussion, the central role is played by the mapping formula between the incoming and the outgoing null coordinates. For the self-similar model, this mapping formula has been derived analytically. But for the model with $C^{\infty}$ density profile, the mapping formula has been obtained only numerically. In the present paper, we argue that the singular nature of the mapping is determined by the local geometry around the point at which the singularity is first formed. If this is the case, it would be natural to expect that the mapping formula can be derived analytically. In the present paper, we analytically rederive the same mapping formula for the model with $C^{\infty}$ density profile that has been earlier derived using a numerical technique.
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.
We prove that the quantum stress tensor for a massless scalar field in two dimensional non-selfsimilar Tolman Bondi dust collapse and Vaidya radiation collapse models diverges on the Cauchy horizon, if the latter exists. The two dimensional model is obtained by suppressing angular co-ordinates in the corresponding four dimensional spherical model.
A sufficiently massive collapsing star will end its life as a spacetime singularity. The nature of the Hawking radiation emitted during collapse depends critically on whether the star's boundary conditions are such as would lead to the eventual formation of a black hole or, alternatively, to the formation of a naked singularity. This latter possibility is not excluded by the singularity theorems. We discuss the nature of the Hawking radiation emitted in each case. We justify the use of Bogoliubov transforms in the presence of a Cauchy horizon and show that if spacetime is assumed to terminate at the Cauchy horizon, the resulting spectrum is thermal, but with a temperature different from the Hawking temperature.
We give a characterization of the central shell-focusing curvature singularity that can form in the spherical gravitational collapse of a bounded matter distribution obeying the dominant energy condition. This characterization is based on the limiting behaviour of the mass function in the neighbourhood of the singularity. Depending on the rate of growth of the mass as a function of the area radius R, the singularity may be either covered or naked. The singularity is naked if this growth rate is slower than R, covered if it is faster than R, and either naked or covered if the growth rate is same as R.
We derive an equation for the acceleration of a fluid element in the spherical gravitational collapse of a bounded compact object made up of an imperfect fluid. We show that non-singular as well as singular solutions arise in the collapse of a fluid initially at rest and having only a tangential pressure. We obtain an exact solution of Einstein equations, in the form of an infinite series, for collapse under tangential pressure with a linear equation of state. We show that if a singularity forms in the tangential pressure model, the conditions for the singularity to be naked are exactly the same as in the model of dust collapse.
We describe a simple method of determining whether the singularity that forms in the spherically symmetric collapse of inhomogeneous dust is naked or covered. This derivation considerably simplifies the analysis given in the earlier literature, while giving the same results as have been obtained before.
We consider the evaporation of the (shell focusing) naked singularity formed during the self-similar collapse of a marginally bound inhomogeneous dust cloud, in the geometric optics approximation. We show that, neglecting the back reaction of the spacetime, the radiation on $\scrip$ tends to infinity as the Cauchy Horizon is approached. Two consequences can be expected from this result: (a) that the back reaction of spacetime will be large and eventually halt the formation of a naked singularity thus preserving the Cosmic Censorship Hypothesis and (b) matter attempting to collapse into a naked singularity will radiate away energy at an intense rate, thereby possibly providing experimental signatures of quantum effects in curved spacetimes.
We calculate the quantum stress tensor for a massless scalar field in the 2-d self-similar spherical dust collapse model which admits a naked singularity. We find that the outgoing radiation flux diverges on the Cauchy horizon. This may have two consequences. The resultant back reaction may prevent the naked singularity from forming, thus preserving cosmic censorship through quantum effects. The divergent flux may lead to an observable signature differentiating naked singularities from black holes in astrophysical observations.