Reflection from black holes

Abstract

Black holes are presumed to have an ideal ability to absorb and keep matter. Whatever comes close to the event horizon, a boundary separating the inside region of a black hole from the outside world, inevitably goes in and remains inside forever. This work shows, however, that quantum corrections make possible a surprising process, reflection: a particle can bounce back from the event horizon. For low energy particles this process is efficient, black holes behave not as holes, but as mirrors, which changes our perception of their physical nature. Possible ways for observations of the reflection and its relation to the Hawking radiation process are outlined.