Idea on the edgeSpeculative · Universe

White holes

The time-reversed twin of a black hole. Nothing can enter a white hole; matter and light only pour out.

Speculative · never observed

Idea
The time reversal of a black hole
Property
Nothing can enter; everything exits
Status
Mathematically possible, never observed
Candidates
Some gamma-ray bursts, speculative

The one-way exit

Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Artist recreation of a white hole
An artist's recreation of a white hole, the time-reversed twin of a black hole. Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The reverse of a black hole

Run a black hole's equations backward in time and the horizon flips. Where a black hole lets everything in and nothing out, a white hole lets everything out and nothing in. It is a valid solution of general relativity, not just a science-fiction device.

No one has seen one, and it is not clear whether nature makes them.

Where one might appear

A white hole could be the endpoint of a black hole's evaporation, or the bounce that some quantum-gravity models put in place of the singularity. In either case the object would be short-lived or unstable, which may be why none are seen.

Why none are seen

A white hole's horizon is one-way outward, so incoming material cannot fall in and is instead pushed away. Any such object would be bright and brief, and the claimed candidates so far have not held up.

Key publications

YearPaperVenueLink
1974Eardley, Death of White Holes in the Early UniversePRL 33, 442DOI
2015Haggard & Rovelli, Quantum-gravity effects outside the horizon spark black to white hole tunnelingPRD 92, 104020DOI
2018Bianchi et al., White holes as remnants: a surprising scenario for the end of a black holeClass. Quantum Grav. 35, 225003DOI

Selected papers for further reading. DOI links open the publisher's record; preprints are linked on arXiv.

Worth knowing

  • A white hole is the mathematical mirror of a black hole.

  • Falling in is impossible because the horizon is one-way outward.

  • No telescope has caught one.

Recommended videos

  • What Is a White Hole? The Infographics Show
  • White Holes PBS Space Time

Videos are embedded from YouTube and load only when you open a card.