Predictivity lost, predictivity regained: a Miltonian cosmic censorship conjecture

Abstract

Cosmic censorship is known to fail in some well-controlled phenomena, calling into question the predictive power of General Relativity and opening up the possibility of observing Planck-scale physics. We propose that the cosmic censorship conjecture can be amended so that its spirit prevails. Naked singularities that, classically, have zero mass are allowed. Physically, these are Planck-sized `black holes', which evaporate in a few Planck times. General Relativity fails only for a tiny interval in time, to then quickly regain control in a Miltonian evolution that returns us to the predictive paradise of Einstein's equations. If this refinement of the conjecture is correct, then, even though Nature does allow to expose breakdowns in the smooth fabric of spacetime, it limits them to a mostly harmless minimum.

6 pages. Essay for the Gravity Research Foundation 2020 Awards

References in corpus (2)

• Black Strings, Low Viscosity Fluids, and Violation of Cosmic Censorship
• Black hole collisions, instabilities, and cosmic censorship violation at large D

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• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Swampland: The Cosmologist's Handbook to the string-theoretical Swampland Programme
• Curvature and dynamical spacetimes: can we peer into the quantum regime?
• Kerr-de Sitter Black Holes: Quantum Aspects and Cosmic Censorship Conjecture