Poking a Dimple in a Black Hole Shows Explicitly that Black Hole Complementarity Violates Causality

ABSTRACT

A massive ball at a fixed distance just outside a black hole (BH) pokes a dimple in the BH by locally depressing the apparent horizon. Analysis of the effect of the dimple on the event horizon shows that if BH Complementarity (BHC) is valid then it is possible to inscribe any message on the surface of the BH; while the message disappears as soon as it is written it can be read by anyone outside the BH during a finite, yet potentially extended period before it is written, thereby violating causality.