Dark Energy and Condensate Stars: A Quantum Alternative to Classical Black Holes

Emil Mottola, LANL, T-8

The difficulties in reconciling general relativity with quantum theory are nowhere better illustrated than in two quite macroscopic effects: the very small but non-zero vacuum dark energy apparently pervading our universe, causing its expansion to accelerate; and the complete gravitational collapse of a dying star to a black hole singularity, which gives rise to a quantum 'information paradox.' After reviewing both the theoretical and observational status of these problems, I propose that vacuum energy may be viewed as a kind of gravitational Bose-Einstein condensate or GBEC. This idea of a quantum BEC phase transition in gravity leads immediately to the possibility of a non-singular endpoint of gravitational collapse, a GBEC 'star.' Like a black hole, a collapsed object of this kind would be cold and dark, but unlike a classical black hole, a GBEC star has no singularities, no event horizons, is thermodynamically stable to further collapse, and has no information paradox. Possible observational and cosmological consequences of this proposal will be discussed, if time permits.

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