Singularities from Entropy

Assuming the Bousso bound, we prove a singularity theorem: if the light rays entering a hyperentropic region contract, then at least one light ray must be incomplete. “Hyperentropic” means that the entropy of the region exceeds the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of its spatial boundary. Our theorem prov...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2022-06, Vol.128 (23), p.231301-231301, Article 231301
Main Authors: Bousso, Raphael, Shahbazi-Moghaddam, Arvin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
general relativity
Physics
quantum gravity
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Summary:Assuming the Bousso bound, we prove a singularity theorem: if the light rays entering a hyperentropic region contract, then at least one light ray must be incomplete. “Hyperentropic” means that the entropy of the region exceeds the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of its spatial boundary. Our theorem provides a direct link between singularities and quantum information. The hyperentropic condition replaces the noncompactness assumption in Penrose’s theorem, so our theorem is applicable even in a closed universe. In an asymptotically de Sitter spacetime, for example, a big bang singularity can be diagnosed from the presence of dilute radiation at arbitrarily late times. In asymptotically flat space, Penrose’s theorem can be recovered by adding soft radiation.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.128.231301