A theory of quantum black holes: non-perturbative corrections and no-veil conjecture

TL;DR

This paper suggests that non-perturbative quantum corrections in dilaton gravity can fundamentally alter black hole causal structure, potentially preventing event horizon formation and resolving the information loss paradox.

Contribution

It introduces a model where quantum corrections change black hole causal structure, challenging the traditional semiclassical picture and proposing a no-veil conjecture.

Findings

Quantum corrections can turn space-like boundaries into time-like.

Most energy is emitted at late times, avoiding information loss.

The causal structure of black holes may be fundamentally different due to quantum effects.

Abstract

A common belief is that further quantum corrections near the singularity of a large black hole should not substantially modify the semiclassical picture of black hole evaporation; in particular, the outgoing spectrum of radiation should be very close to the thermal spectrum predicted by Hawking. In this paper we explore a possible counterexample: in the context of dilaton gravity, we find that non-perturbative quantum corrections which are important in strong coupling regions may completely alter the semiclassical picture, to the extent that the presumptive space-like boundary becomes time-like, changing in this way the causal structure of the semiclassical geometry. As a result, only a small fraction of the total energy is radiated outside the fake event horizon; most of the energy comes in fact at later retarded times and there is no information loss problem. Thus we propose that this may constitute a general characteristic of quantum black holes, that is, quantum gravity might be such as to prevent the formation of global event horizons. We argue that this is not unnatural from the viewpoint of quantum mechanics.