Black holes are thought to form when massive stars collapse in on themselves and create gravitational pulls that are so strong that not even light can escape. However, if a collapsing star were to lose too much mass during its demise, it would no longer have the density needed to become a black hole. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill physicist Laura Mersini-Houghton's new study has set out to prove that very hypothesis, IFL Science reported on Wednesday.
Astrophysicists have been studying the mystery of black holes for decades. It is almost universally believed that when a star 20 times bigger in size than our Sun or larger dies and collapses, it can condense into an incredibly small area known as the singularity, which is extremely dense. It is surrounded by an event horizon, which is a space where the gravitational pull is so strong, not even light can pass through. It is essentially the "point of no return."
Stephen Hawking first hypothesized in 1974 that due to quantum effects at the event horizon, it releases radiation now known as Hawking radiation. Letting go of this radiation over time can pull mass away, in a process known as evaporation. However, Mersini-Houghton counters that so much radiation is lost from the star when it collapses, forming a black hole is impossible.
New research methods and experimental evidence may eventually provide physical proof as to whether or not black holes exist in the universe, according to The Daily Mail.
But in the meantime, Mersini-Houghton says the mathematics are reliable.
In addition, the research could apparently even call into question the validity of the Big Bang theory.
Most scientists think the universe originated from a single event that began expanding with the Big Bang about 13.8 billion years ago.
However, if what by Professor Mersini-Houghton suggested is true about singularities, then that theory would also be brought into question.
