A 2023 research paper authored by Professor Heino Falcke and his colleagues at Radboud University posited that not only black holes, but indeed all cosmic entities, are capable of undergoing ‘evaporation’ through a mechanism analogous to Hawking radiation. Following this publication, the investigators fielded numerous inquiries concerning the duration of this process. In a subsequent investigation, they ascertained that the cessation of the Universe is approximately 1078 years distant, contingent solely upon the influence of Hawking-like radiation. This temporal estimation represents the lifespan required for white dwarfs—the most enduring celestial bodies known—to disintegrate via this radiation mechanism. Prior scholarly works, which did not incorporate this phenomenon, had projected the longevity of white dwarfs at a staggering 101100 years.
An artistic rendition of a neutron star undergoing gradual ‘evaporation’ via Hawking-like radiation. Image courtesy of Daniëlle Futselaar / Artsource.nl.
Professor Falcke remarked, “Consequently, the ultimate dissolution of the Universe transpires considerably sooner than anticipated, yet fortunately, it still unfolds over an immense timescale.”
In 1975, physicist Stephen Hawking introduced a hypothesis suggesting that, in contravention of established relativity principles, particles and radiation could indeed escape the confines of a black hole.
At the boundary of a black hole, transient particle-antiparticle pairs can materialize. Prior to their annihilation, one particle is consumed by the black hole, while its counterpart is expelled into space.
A significant implication of Hawking radiation is the gradual disintegration of a black hole into constituent particles and energy.
This concept stands in direct opposition to Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, which dictates that black holes exclusively augment in mass.
Professor Falcke and his fellow researchers computed that the phenomenon of Hawking radiation is theoretically applicable to other celestial bodies possessing a gravitational field.
Their subsequent calculations revealed that the ‘evaporation period’ of any object is determined exclusively by its density.
To the researchers’ astonishment, neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes exhibit an identical decay duration: 1067 years.
This finding was unexpected, given that black holes possess a more potent gravitational influence, which one might assume would accelerate their ‘evaporation’ rate.
Dr. Michael Wondrak, a postdoctoral researcher at Radboud University, explained, “However, black holes lack a physical surface.”
“They reabsorb a portion of their own emitted radiation, thereby impeding the disintegration process.”
The authors further elaborated, “As we were already engaged in these calculations, we also determined the hypothetical evaporation time for the Moon and a human through Hawking-like radiation, estimating it at 1090 years.”
“Naturally, other destructive mechanisms exist that could precipitate the demise of humans and the Moon at a far more accelerated pace than these theoretical projections.”
Professor Walter van Suijlekom of Radboud University highlighted, “This research represents a captivating interdisciplinary endeavor, demonstrating how the convergence of astrophysics, quantum physics, and mathematics yields novel insights.”
“By probing such profound questions and examining theoretical extremes, our objective is to refine our comprehension of the underlying theory and, potentially, to one day elucidate the enigma surrounding Hawking radiation.”
The forthcoming paper is slated for publication in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.
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Heino Falcke et al. 2025. An upper limit to the lifetime of stellar remnants from gravitational pair production. JCAP, in press; arXiv: 2410.14734
