Breakdown of Semiclassical Gravity in Four-Dimensional Black Hole Evaporation
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2026
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| author | Lowe, David A. Thorlacius, Larus |
| author_facet | Lowe, David A. Thorlacius, Larus |
| contents | We study black hole formation and evaporation in a four-dimensional semiclassical model that preserves diffeomorphism invariance and reproduces the one-loop trace anomaly. Solving the quantum-corrected Einstein equations for the collapse of a spherically symmetric null shell, we follow the formation and evaporation of a black hole with back-reaction included. The semiclassical solutions develop a spacelike thunderbolt singularity that emerges after the apparent horizon has receded and extends far from the black hole where the semiclassical curvature is a priori expected to be parametrically small. This behavior arises from a nonlinear instability of the higher-derivative semiclassical equations and is generic in models with anomaly-induced quantum corrections. The thunderbolt signals a breakdown of semiclassical effective field theory over macroscopic distances and undermines the standard formulation of the black hole information paradox. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_00780 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Breakdown of Semiclassical Gravity in Four-Dimensional Black Hole Evaporation Lowe, David A. Thorlacius, Larus High Energy Physics - Theory General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology We study black hole formation and evaporation in a four-dimensional semiclassical model that preserves diffeomorphism invariance and reproduces the one-loop trace anomaly. Solving the quantum-corrected Einstein equations for the collapse of a spherically symmetric null shell, we follow the formation and evaporation of a black hole with back-reaction included. The semiclassical solutions develop a spacelike thunderbolt singularity that emerges after the apparent horizon has receded and extends far from the black hole where the semiclassical curvature is a priori expected to be parametrically small. This behavior arises from a nonlinear instability of the higher-derivative semiclassical equations and is generic in models with anomaly-induced quantum corrections. The thunderbolt signals a breakdown of semiclassical effective field theory over macroscopic distances and undermines the standard formulation of the black hole information paradox. |
| title | Breakdown of Semiclassical Gravity in Four-Dimensional Black Hole Evaporation |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Theory General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.00780 |