Black Hole Shadows Put Quantum Gravity to the Test ⚡ экспресс
Using images from the Event Horizon Telescope, scientists studied the shadows of black holes M87* and Sagittarius A* within loop quantum gravity—a theory where spacetime is woven from quantum loops. They examined rotating black holes with a quantum correction (parameter b). It turned out that increasing b 'inflates' the shadow, and photon orbits shift outward from the center—effective gravity weakens. An intriguing fact: a closed dark ring remains even without an event horizon. According to EHT data, b for M87* can reach 0.13–0.42 solar masses, and for Sgr A*—0.58–0.75 solar masses, consistent with observations. This strengthens the case for quantum-corrected black holes as real astrophysical objects.
The shadow of a black hole is not just a silhouette. It's the edge of the abyss, where space and time are twisted so tightly that even light is forced to swirl like a wood chip in a whirlpool. This 'cosmic whirlpool' arises from the monstrous mass warping spacetime.
Physicists tested what would happen if quantum effects—tiny corrections from loop quantum gravity theory, where space itself is made of microscopic loops—are added to this whirlpool. Calculations showed that quantum corrections barely perceptibly widen the shadow. But more importantly, even if you remove the 'drain hole,' i.e., the event horizon, the funnel remains closed, and the shadow stays a ring. The real surprise: inside such a black hole, there's no singularity point, just an entangled tangle of loops.
🎯 Light in a black hole's shadow can loop around, creating an infinite series of reflections, like in a hall of mirrors.
🎬 In 'Interstellar,' Gargantua's shadow was modeled using classical equations; quantum corrections would make it slightly more oval.