Dirac observables in the 4-dimensional phase space of Ashtekar's variables and spherically symmetric loop quantum black holes

TL;DR

This paper investigates a quantum gravity model for spherically symmetric black holes using Ashtekar's variables, revealing universal asymptotic behavior and finite internal regions replacing singularities, with significant differences from previous loop quantum black hole models.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach where the polymerization parameters are Dirac observables, leading to new insights into black hole horizons and internal structure in loop quantum gravity.

Findings

Asymptotically flat spacetime with curvature invariants independent of mass

Finite transition surface replacing classical singularity

Distinct behavior of curvature and white hole size depending on mass

Abstract

In this paper, we study a proposal put forward recently by Bodendorfer, Mele and M\"unch and Garc\'\i{}a-Quismondo and Marug\'an, in which the two polymerization parameters of spherically symmetric black hole spacetimes are the Dirac observables of the four-dimensional Ashtekar's variables. In this model, black and white hole horizons in general exist and naturally divide the spacetime into the external and internal regions. In the external region, the spacetime can be made asymptotically flat by properly choosing the dependence of the two polymerization parameters on the Ashtekar variables. Then, we find that the asymptotical behavior of the spacetime is universal, and, to the leading order, the curvature invariants are independent of the mass parameter $m$. For example, the Kretschmann scalar approaches zero as $K \simeq A_0r^{-4}$ asymptotically, where $A_0$ is generally a non-zero constant and independent of $m$, and $r$ the geometric radius of the two-spheres. In the internal region, all the physical quantities are finite, and the Schwarzschild black hole singularity is replaced by a transition surface whose radius is always finite and non-zero. The quantum gravitational effects are negligible near the black hole horizon for very massive black holes. However, the behavior of the spacetime across the transition surface is significantly different from all loop quantum black holes studied so far. In particular, the location of the maximum amplitude of the curvature scalars is displaced from the transition surface and depends on $m$, so does the maximum amplitude. In addition, the radius of the white hole is much smaller than that of the black hole, and its exact value sensitively depends on $m$, too.