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What do quantum fields 'see' inside a charged black hole?

Felix Finster, Christoph Krpoun

May 28, 2026

Inside a charged (Reissner-Nordström) black hole there are two horizons, and defining well-behaved quantum states across both has been technically fraught. Working in coordinates that pass smoothly through both horizons, the authors construct a specific quantum vacuum state for the Dirac (electron) field and prove it satisfies the Hadamard condition — the standard criterion that a quantum state behaves physically, with no spurious infinities in measurable quantities. This matters because well-defined quantum states near the Cauchy horizon are central to understanding whether strong cosmic censorship survives quantum corrections.
Published as The Fermionic Signature Operator in the Reissner-Nordström Geometry in Horizon-Penetrating Coordinates arXiv:2605.30176
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