At the center of each classical black hole is a paradox: a singularity, where gravity is infinite and the laws of physics break down. But a new theoretical breakthrough says such cosmic dead ends aren ...

Can we do away with the troublesome singularity at the heart of black holes? A new paper in JCAP reimagines these extreme objects in light of current knowledge. “Hic sunt leones,” remarks Stefano ...

A cartoon of a black hole and a naked singularity. Either of them can be the end product of a gravita tional collapse of matter, depending on initial and other conditions. For a black hole, nothing, ...

Three physicists have proposed a modification to Einstein’s general relativity that, if confirmed, could eliminate the singularity at the origin of the universe. By adding higher-curvature terms to ...

In 1974, Stephen Hawking predicted that quantum effects in the proximity of a black hole lead to the emission of particles and black hole evaporation. At the very heart of this process lies a ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Two blind spots torture physicists: the birth of the universe and the center of a black hole. The former may feel like a moment in time ...