Naked Black Hole Firewalls

TL;DR

This paper argues that firewalls near black hole horizons can become 'naked' due to quantum fluctuations, challenging their status as conservative solutions to the information loss paradox.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of naked black hole firewalls, showing how quantum effects can expose firewalls outside the horizon, questioning their traditional assumptions.

Findings

Firewalls can be arbitrarily far outside the horizon.

Quantum fluctuations can cause the firewall to become naked.

Challenges the notion that firewalls are conservative solutions.

Abstract

In the firewall proposal, it is assumed that the firewall lies near the event horizon and should not be observable except by infalling observers, who are presumably terminated at the firewall. However, if the firewall is located near where the horizon would have been, based on the spacetime evolution up to that time, later quantum fluctuations of the Hawking emission rate can cause the "teleological" event horizon to have migrated to the inside of the firewall location, rendering the firewall naked. In principle, the firewall can be arbitrarily far outside the horizon. This casts doubt about the notion that firewalls are the "most conservative" solution to the information loss paradox.