Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2016 / iii / Paper 311 / 4

Use an affine parameter $\lambda$ along a generator of a null hypersurface. Its null twist vanishes by hypersurface orthogonality. The screen metric is positive definite, so ${\hat{\sigma }}^{ab}{\hat{\sigma }}_{ab}\ge 0$. The Einstein field equations and null energy condition imply $R_{ab}{U}^a{U}^b\ge 0$, giving from the Null Raychaudhuri equationStarting with ${\theta }_0<0$, the null expansion stays negative as long as the congruence remains regular. Set $z=-1/\theta >0$. Then $z^{\prime }={\theta }^{\prime }/{\theta }^2\le -1/2$, soA finite negative null expansion cannot persist to $\lambda -{\lambda }_0=2/|{\theta }_0|$. Thus the null focusing theorem givesThis is a focal breakdown of the transverse congruence, provided the generator and regular geometry extend that far; it is not by itself a curvature singularity or a statement that the individual null geodesic terminates there.

The second law of black-hole mechanics says that the total area of future event horizon cross-sections cannot decrease toward the future, assuming the classical Einstein field equations, the null energy condition, suitable global predictability and regularity, and here the stipulated future completeness of its generators.

A future event horizon is an achronal boundary generated by null geodesics. If a smooth generator had $\theta <0$, the null focusing theorem would produce a conjugate point to a spacelike surface within finite affine parameter. Future completeness lets the generator reach it, but beyond such a point it could no longer remain on the achronal boundary, a contradiction. Hence $\theta \ge 0$ wherever the null expansion is defined. A transported area element obeysEvery generator present on an early cut continues to a later cut without decreasing its area contribution. New generators can join at past endpoints, adding area; future endpoints in a regular spacetime are excluded. ThereforeThis argument also covers the sum of initially disconnected event horizons of the black holes in a merger. Nonsmooth crease sets require the standard regularity treatment; they do not provide a classical area-decrease loophole under these hypotheses. Quantum negative-energy flux can violate the classical null energy condition, so this is a classical black-hole area theorem, not an unconditional law for evaporating black holes.

For each initial Kerr black hole, $r_{+}=M+\sqrt{M^2-a^2}$ and the horizon area follows by integrating its induced metric:The final Schwarzschild black hole has area $16\pi M^{\prime 2}$. Applying the second law of black-hole mechanics to the sum of the two initial areas givesConsequently the radiated energy fraction satisfiesThe bound is $1-1/\sqrt{2}\approx 0.293$ for nonrotating initial holes and tends to $1/2$ as $|a|/M\to 1$. It is an upper bound from area alone, not a predicted efficiency or an assurance that equality is realizable. A final Schwarzschild black hole has zero angular momentum; any nonzero total initial angular momentum must also be removed or compensated, which can further restrict a physical merger.

Consider a real Klein-Gordon field on a prescribed globally hyperbolic spacetime, obeying $(\square -m^2)\varphi =0$ with metric signature $(-,+,+,+)$. A curvature coupling can be included as $m^2\mapsto m^2+\xi R$. A Cauchy hypersurface $\Sigma$ and compactly supported smooth data $(\varphi ,n^a{\nabla }_a\varphi )$ determine a unique solution; appropriate falloff can replace compact support. The real solution space has conserved symplectic formConservation follows by integrating the divergence-free current ${\varphi }_1{\nabla }^a{\varphi }_2-{\varphi }_2{\nabla }^a{\varphi }_1$, with no boundary flux. On complex solutions the conserved Klein-Gordon inner product isIt is indefinite on the full complex solution space.

Choose a complete positive-norm mode subspace, with modes $u_j$ satisfyingEquivalently choose a compatible complex structure on the Klein-Gordon solution space. The mode labels may be continuous, in which case sums and Kronecker symbols become integrals and Dirac delta functions. Construct the one-particle Hilbert space from these modes and its bosonic Fock space. Promote the field to the operator-valued distributionFor a foliation with spatial metric determinant $h$, the conjugate momentum density is $\hat{\pi }=\sqrt{h}{n}^a{\nabla }_a\hat{\varphi }$. Mode completeness gives the equal-time canonical commutation relationsThe Fock vacuum obeys $a_j|0⟩=0$, and $a_j^{†}{a}_j$ counts particles in the chosen mode. For local products and a renormalized stress-energy tensor, physically admissible states are further restricted by the Hadamard condition. The field algebra exists without a preferred Fock vacuum.

A different admissible mode splitting can mix positive and negative norms:Orthonormality imposes the canonical identities for a bosonic Bogoliubov transformationThe same field then hasWithout a preferred notion of positive frequency, a nonstationary spacetime supplies no distinguished mode splitting: particle number and vacuum depend on the choice of modes, although the field equation and field algebra do not. With infinitely many modes the Bogoliubov transformation need not be unitarily implementable; finite total mixing requires a Hilbert-Schmidt operator $\beta$.

For a stable strictly stationary spacetime, a chosen future globally timelike Killing vector field $K$ gives a preferred time translation. Choose modes withWhen the corresponding conserved Killing energy is positive and the spectral problem has suitable boundary conditions and no problematic zero modes, this gives the preferred vacuum state in a stationary spacetime and particles relative to $K$. Positive-frequency mode mixing within that same subspace leaves the Fock vacuum unchanged. Rescaling $K$ by a positive constant changes the frequency units but not their sign.

Stationarity alone, if it only means a Killing field timelike near infinity, is insufficient for a global unique particle interpretation. In the Kerr ergoregion, ${\partial }_t$ is spacelike, so positive frequency relative to $t$ does not automatically select a positive-norm subspace throughout the geometry; superradiance illustrates the difficulty. Additional vacuum and boundary choices remain necessary. The customary stationary answer therefore assumes a suitable timelike stationary flow and a stable positive-energy quantization; it does not assert that every stationary black-hole extension has one globally preferred vacuum.