Can gravitational wave escape a black hole

In summary: Not sure. I've heard once from someone here on PF that a gravitational wave coming across a black hole will cause changes in the event horizon that would end up creating another gravitational wave identical to the first one. So it would be like the original gravitational wave simply passed through the black hole.
  • #1
kodama
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  • #2
kodama said:
light waves created inside a black hole cannot. Can gravitational waves escape from inside of black holes?

in classical GR. does the answer change in string theory?
No, they can't but they don't need to. Why would you think they might? And by the way, please don't use HUGE fonts when it is totally unnecessary to do so.
 
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  • #3
phinds said:
No, they can't but they don't need to. Why would you think they might? And by the way, please don't use HUGE fonts when it is totally unnecessary to do so.

feel free to correct the formatting.

gravity waves is spacetime waves so its different in nature from lightwaves which are bosons
 
  • #4
kodama said:
gravity waves is spacetime waves so its different in nature from lightwaves which are bosons

It's irrelevant that light waves are bosons. (And if gravity is quantized, then their quanta are bosons as well.) Light waves are also irrelevant here because light waves don't play any fundamental role in GR or in the properties of black holes.

Low-amplitude gravitational waves obey a wave equation. It's a consequence of this wave equation that these waves propagate along the light cone. For an event inside the event horizon of a black hole, the future light cone lies inside the event horizon. Therefore the answer in classical gravity is no, gravitational waves cannot escape from a black hole.

kodama said:
does the answer change in string theory?

I don't see how string theory or any other theory of quantum gravity is relevant here. This is a purely classical question. Nothing is happening at the Planck scale, so we don't need a theory of quantum gravity to discuss this. Similarly, we don't need QED to explain the radiation pattern of a radio antenna.
 
  • #5
so what happens to the spacetime curvature wave as it approaches the event horizon from inside the black hole?
 
  • #6
kodama said:
so what happens to the spacetime curvature wave as it approaches the event horizon from inside the black hole?

It doesn't approach the event horizon. It propagates toward the singularity and ends there.

This is exactly the same as the case of a radio wave. A radio wave emitted from inside the horizon doesn't approach the event horizon. It propagates toward the singularity and ends there.

You might find it helpful to learn about Penrose diagrams in order to reason about this kind of thing. I have a simple, nonmathematical treatment of Penrose diagrams in section 11.5 of this book: http://lightandmatter.com/poets/
 
  • #7
kodama said:
so what happens to the spacetime curvature wave as it approaches the event horizon from inside the black hole?
what is a "spacetime curvature wave" ? Sounds like you are just stringing words together.
 
  • #8
phinds said:
what is a "spacetime curvature wave" ? Sounds like you are just stringing words together.

I think this just indicates a gravitational wave. That's what a gravitational wave is: a wave of spacetime curvature.
 
  • #9
bcrowell said:
I think this just indicates a gravitational wave. That's what a gravitational wave is: a wave of spacetime curvature.
OK. I just had not heard the term before but your interpretation seems reasonable.
 
  • #10
kodama said:
feel free to correct the formatting.

Done. :wink:
 
  • #11
Gravitational waves originate outside the event horizon of a black hole. It's predicted that when a BH collapses with rotation, some of the gravitational wave (the radiative tail) falls through the EH which then inflates in a Dirac Delta like function at the inner/Cauchy horizon contributing to something called mass inflation (a weak singularity at the inner/Cauchy horizon). This is part of the reason why the inner horizon is considered to be unstable and 'the boundary of predictability'.

Old library entry with a number of links to various paper-
What is mass inflation
 
  • #12
We could detect gravitational waves produced by a merger of 2 BH; but if this waves meet an other BH, will they be absorb by this last one?
 
  • #13
Not sure. I've heard once from someone here on PF that a gravitational wave coming across a black hole will cause changes in the event horizon that would end up creating another gravitational wave identical to the first one. So it would be like the original gravitational wave simply passed through the black hole.
 

Related to Can gravitational wave escape a black hole

1. Can gravitational waves escape a black hole?

Yes, gravitational waves can escape a black hole. This is because they are not affected by the strong gravitational pull of the black hole. They can travel through space and can even be detected by scientists on Earth.

2. How do gravitational waves escape a black hole?

Gravitational waves are created when two massive objects, such as black holes, orbit each other and then merge. These waves are created in the fabric of space-time and can travel through it, even through the strong gravitational pull of a black hole.

3. What happens to gravitational waves when they reach a black hole?

When gravitational waves reach a black hole, they are not affected by the black hole's gravity. Instead, they continue to travel through space-time, although their path may be slightly curved by the black hole's gravity. They can also be detected by instruments on Earth, providing valuable information about the black hole.

4. Can we detect gravitational waves from a black hole?

Yes, we can detect gravitational waves from a black hole by using specialized instruments, such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). These instruments are sensitive enough to detect the tiny ripples in space-time caused by the merging of two black holes.

5. Why is it important to study gravitational waves from black holes?

Studying gravitational waves from black holes can provide us with valuable information about these mysterious objects. It can help us understand their formation and evolution, as well as test our current theories about gravity. It can also give us insights into the nature of the universe and its origins.

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