Photon sphere

English

Etymology

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Noun

1. Template:Lb A spherical limit around a black hole at such distance that any photon meeting it tangentially is constrained to travel in a circular orbit; Template:Lb the region between this limit and the event horizon.

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   • 2017, Lori Gardi, The Mandelbrot Set as a Quasi-Black Hole, David de Hilster (editor), John Chappell Natural Philosophy Society: 2017 Proceedings, John Chappell Natural Philosophy Society, page 65,

     The lesser known region just outside the black hole is referred to as the photon sphere (outer grey region in Figure 9). The photon sphere is a region of space just outside the black hole where photons are forced to travel in complex orbits due to the extreme curvature of space within this region [2].Template:...Finally, the boundary that exactly separates the black hole from the photon sphere is referred to as the event horizon (white circle surrounding the black region in Figure 9).

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Usage notes

• The photon sphere is distinct from the event horizon. An object in free fall that crosses the photon sphere from above thence follows an unstable orbit and spirals into the black hole. However—in theory—it can still escape, by receiving a sufficiently large acceleration boost. In contrast, once an object passes through the event horizon it cannot escape, since it would need to be accelerated beyond the speed of light.

Translations

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