Three high school students from Seoul Science School achieved a rare feat by publishing a scientific paper on the thermodynamics of black holes in an international journal. The achievement is notable as it was carried out by high school researchers without support from universities or other external institutions.
The study, entitled “A Constraint-Free Formulation of Black Hole Thermodynamics from the Field Equations”, was published in the International Journal of Modern Physics D, a prominent publication in the field of physics.
The work explores in detail the connection between black hole thermodynamics and gravitational field equations.
The school reported that the task of deriving the first law of thermodynamics for black holes represents a long-standing challenge for physicists.
Previous research has often focused on transformations of the outer event horizon while considering the volume of the black hole. This methodology made it complex to apply the same approach to more elaborate black holes, such as those that rotate or have a charge, which have both internal and external event horizons.
The outer event horizon is the boundary in space-time where the gravitational force intensifies to the point where nothing, not even light, can escape. The internal event horizon is a theoretical barrier located inside certain rotating or charged black holes.
The student researchers presented a new perspective by introducing changes in entropy, rather than volume, into the field equations.
As entropy can incorporate information from both inner and outer horizons, the article argues that the first law of thermodynamics can be formulated more directly for different types of black holes and for higher-order theories of gravity.
The institution highlighted that this discovery has the potential to offer theoretical support for the advancement of the theory of emergent gravity, which proposes gravity not as a fundamental force of nature, but rather as a thermodynamic phenomenon.
Development of the study and support from the institution
The research project emerged from the regular curriculum and study programs of the school itself, according to information released by the institution.
The three students Ahn Geon-woo, Bae I-jin and Jang Geun-young dedicated themselves to research last year, under the guidance of physics professor Kwon Yong-joon. They all finished high school in February.
They developed the topic of their investigation through the school’s research and education program, undergraduate thesis track, and creative convergence classes.
The article was submitted for evaluation in January and official publication took place in June of the same year.
Reviewers of the work praised the research, according to the school, calling it “particularly impressive” for the level of sophistication achieved by high school students.
Kwon, the professor who led the study, stated that “the students’ intellectual curiosity and passion bore fruit through systematic classes and the school’s support of research activities.”
Students Bae and Jang commented that the journey of transforming a simple curiosity into an article published in an international academic journal was, at the same time, challenging and stimulating.
“We gained valuable experience by directly participating in the process of overcoming the limits of previous studies in black hole thermodynamics and adding a new interpretation,” the students declared.
