Physicists discover theoretical possibility of black hole fission

An international team of physicists has identified a theoretical scenario in which a black hole could split into two smaller entities, a process similar to biological cell division. The study, published in the journal Physical Review D, suggests that while black hole mergers are common, fragmentation is typically prohibited by the laws of thermodynamics.

The primary obstacle to splitting is entropy. For a non-rotating black hole, dividing into two smaller objects would decrease total entropy, violating the second law of thermodynamics. However, researchers from the University of Southern Denmark, the University of Naples Federico II, and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) found that extreme rotation could create a loophole.

When a black hole rotates at nearly the maximum speed permitted by physics, its event horizon undergoes geometric deformation. This extreme rotation provides the necessary conditions to bypass thermodynamic restrictions. For the process to be successful, the two newly formed black holes must also possess enough momentum to move away from each other; otherwise, they will immediately remerge due to gravity.