Work

On the Modes at the Schwarzschild Black Hole Horizon

Year: 2026

Type: preprint

Abstract: We discuss the origin of the modes appearing at the Schwarzschild black hole horizon and decaying at integer multiples of the surface gravity. We argue that no excitations generated at the horizon by the plunging of a particle into a black hole can leave it. Our argument is based on the fact that, when the particle approaches the horizon, its speed is necessarily boosted to ultra-relativistic values and its near-horizon gravitational field becomes a Dray-'t Hooft shockwave, which is an exact, nonanalytic, and nonperturbative solution of Einstein's equations. The corresponding metric perturbations are localized at the horizon and can never reach a distant observer.

Source: arXiv (Cornell University)

DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2609.27920

Authors: Giataganas, Dimitrios, Kehagias, Alex, Riotto, Antonio

Institutions: National Sun Yat-sen University, National Center for Theoretical Sciences, National Center for Theoretical Sciences, Physics Division, National Technical University of Athens, University of Geneva

Language: English

Topic: Black Holes and Theoretical Physics

Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, National Science and Technology Council

OpenAlex ID: W7214174819

Cites: 1

Cited by:

Related to: 10