Eur. Phys. J.

C (2024) 84:284
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjc/s10052-024-12648-2

Regular Article - Theoretical Physics

Black hole in discrete gravity

Ali H. Chamseddine1, Ola Malaeb1,2,a , Sara Najem1,2
1 Department of Physics, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
2 Center for Advanced Mathematical Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

Received: 8 November 2023 / Accepted: 6 March 2024 / Published online: 19 March 2024
© The Author(s) 2024

Abstract We study the metric corresponding to a three- discretize the continuous metric of the black hole coset space.
dimensional coset space S O(4)/S O(3) in the lattice setting. We investigate the domains in the proximity of the singu-
With the use of three integers n 1 , n 2 , and n 3 , and a length larities and away from them, and numerically compare the
scale, lμ , the continuous metric is transformed into a discrete discrete values of the curvature tensor with the expected con-
space. The numerical outcomes are compared with the con- tinuous ones.
tinuous ones. The singularity of the black hole is explored
and different domains are studied.
2 Black hole coset space metric

1 Introduction Consider the metric corresponding to a three-dimensional

coset space S O(4)/S O(3) [3,7]
The challenges encountered while attempting to quantize tanh2 z 2 coth2 z 2
gravity have inspired the advancement of discrete gravity the- ds 2 = dx + dy + dz 2 , (1)
u u
ories. Different approaches to lattice gravity were explored
over the past years [1,8,11]. Lately, in [6], a new approach to where
 
discrete gravity was proposed where the manifold is taken to u = 1 − x 2 + y 2 , u ≥ 0, −∞ ≤ z ≤ ∞. (2)
be discrete and consists of elementary cells. The dimension
d is defined assuming each cell has 2d neighboring cells that A coset space of the form G/H is the space of elements
share a common boundary with each individual cell, and a where g ∈ G can be decomposed in the form:
 
finite number of degrees of freedom is associated with each
g = kh ∈ G, k = exp iθ i4 Ji4 ∈ G/H,
cell. This approach stands out from others primarily because  
it clearly reveals the continuous limit. h = exp iθ i j Ji j , i, j = 1, 2, 3.
Recently and based on the above model, the scalar curva-
ture of discrete gravity in two dimensions was investigated This metric was first obtained to represent a configuration
in [4], while the examination of the curvature tensor in three of a metric in the presence of a dilation field, but we will
dimensions can be found in [5]. In the latter, a three-sphere not add a dilation here. This choice is of particular interest
was considered and its continuous metric was converted into because the lattice is not trivial and not maximally symmetric.
a lattice. It was shown that the scalar curvature in the discrete The z-behaviour is different than the x and y. Upon letting
space approaches the expected value in the continuous limit. tanh z coth z
In this paper, we will study again the three-dimensional θ 1 = √ d x, θ 2 = √ dy, θ 3 = dz
u u
case, but now for a black hole coset space metric. To dis-
cretize, a length scale lμ and three integers n 1 , n 2 , n 3 are be the three one-forms, the spin connections and curvature
used. The metric corresponding to a three-dimensional coset tensors are all computed. The scalar curvature is then given
space, along with the spin connections and curvatures in the by
 
continuous case, are presented in the Sect. 2. In Sect. 3, we 1 1 2
R = −4 1 + + y tanh2 z + x 2 coth2 z .
sinh2 z cosh2 z u
a e-mail: oh09@aub.edu.lb (corresponding author) (3)

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3 Discretizition and numerics

Since u ≥ 0, R will always have negative curvature. There
is a singularity at all points on the circle defined by u = 0 In order to discretize, we follow the same methodology we
and at z = 0. We can further confirm this by calculating the used in [5]. Explicitly, we define:
curvature invariant R ab Rab
1 n1 n2 n3
1 = 2 = 3 = , x= , y= , z= , (5)
R Rab = (R11 ) + (R22 ) + (R33 ) + 2 (R12 )
ab 2 2 2 2 N N N N
+2 (R13 )2 + 2 (R23 )2 . where

It is worth noting that the coordinate system we are using n 1 = 1, 2, . . . N , n 2 = 1, 2, . . . N , n 3 = 1, 2, . . . N ,

cannot be extended. It is an Euclidean black hole with no (6)
horizon. The singularities are for z = 0 and on the boundary
of the disc with x 2 + y 2 = 1, i.e. u = 0. which together with the constraint (from Eq. 2) give:
To relate it to the lattice setting, the metric used here gives
n 21 + n 22
the curvature tensor in flat coordinates (anholonomic sys- u =1− > 0. (7)
tem). This is the system where: N2
Discretization is required in all three dimensions, x, y,
θ 1 = e1. d x, θ 2 = e2. dy, θ 3 = e3. dz and z; therefore, in terms of numerical complexity, the code
1 2 3
is O(N 3 ). Hence, expanding the lattice would scale as N 3 .
so that: To derive the three-dimensional discrete curvature, we
tanh z coth z start with the definition [6]
e1. = √ , e2. = √ , e3. = 1. (4)
1 u 2 u 3
i i i 1 
μ) −1
Rμν σ = μ ν μ (n) ν (n +  μ (n + 
ν)
Thus, we will have: 2 2  
ij −1
ν (n) − μ ↔ ν
Rμνi j = eμ eν Rkl .
k l

1 1
= μ ν cos μ ωμ (n) + i ωμi
(n)
In terms of components, we will have: 2  2

1
R. .
ij
= e1. e2. R12 ,
ij
R. .
ij
= e1. e3. R13 ,
ij sin μ ωμ (n) σ i
2
12 1 2 13 1 3

ij
=
ij
e2. e3. R23 . 1
R. .
23 2 3 · cos ν ων (n +  μ) + i ωνi
2

For the non-vanishing components, we have 1 ν
(n) sin  ων (n +  μ) σ i
2

2 sinh z 2y 1
R . . 13 = √ 3
, R . . 13 = − 3 , · cos μ ωμ (n +  ν) − i ωμi
(n + 
ν)
13 u cosh z 1 2
u 2 cosh2 z 2

2 cosh z 2x 1
R . . 23 = − √ , R . . 23 = − 3 , sin μ ωμ (n +  ν) σ i
23 3
u sinh z 1 2 2
u 2 sinh2 z 
2y sinh z 2x cosh z 1 1
R . . 12 = − , R . . 12 = − , · cos ν ων (n) − i ωνi (n) sin ν
13 u cosh z3 23 u sinh3 z 2 2
   
2 1 2 2
R. . = −
12
1+ y tan z + x cot z .
2 2 ων (n) σ i − μ ↔ ν .
12 u u

We note that we can compare with the discrete case by observ- Consider the product
ing that:
 
1 μ i 1 μ i
cos  ωμ (n) + i
ωμ (n) sin  ωμ (n) σ
R . . 13 = −R . . 2 , R . . 13 = −R . . 2 , 2 2
13 13 12 12  
1 ν 1
R . . 23 = R . . 1, R . . 23 = R . . 1 , cos  ων (n + 
μ) + i μ) sin ν ων (n + 
ωνi (n +  μ) σ i ,
23 23 12 12 2 2
R ..
12
= R . . 3, R ..
12
= R . . 3, R . . 12 = R . . 3 .
13 13 23 23 12 12

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this can be rewritten as: + i jk Bμν
j k
(n) Bνμ (n) . (8)

1 1 The connection ων (n) is determined from the zero torsion
cos μ ωμ (n) cos ν ων (n +  μ) − ωμi (n) 
ωνi (n + 
μ)
2 2 condition, which is given by

1 1
sin μ ωμ (n) sin ν ων (n +  μ) 1  
2 2 Tμν (n) = μ μ (n) eν (n +  μ) −1
μ (n) − eν (n)
 
1
+ i cos μ ωμ (n)  ωνi (n + 
1
μ) sin ν ων (n +  μ) −μ ↔ ν, (9)
2 2
i (n) sin 1 μ ω (n) cos 1 ν ω (n + 
where this equation is written in a contracted form where the
+ ωμ μ ν μ) vielbeins eαa are incorporated into the Clifford algebra. Upon
2 2 
i jk j 1 μ k 1 ν computing this, we get
  ωμ (n) sin  ωμ (n)  ων (n +  μ) sin  ων (n +  μ) σ i  
2 2 1 1 μ 1 μ
0= μ ωμ (n) sin  ωμ (n) σ σ k
cos  ωμ (n) + i i i
i σi,
≡ Aνμ + i Bμν  2 2
 
1 μ 1
ωμ (n) sin μ ωμ (n) σ j eνk (n + 
j
cos  ωμ (n) − i μ)
2 2

where −eνi (n) σ i − μ ↔ ν) .

1 1
Aμν (n) = cos μ ωμ (n + 
ν) cos ν ων (n) − 
ωμj (n + 
ν) 
ωνj (n) By expanding and grouping terms, we get the following
2 2
 result:
1 1
sin μ ωμ (n + 
ν) sin ν ων (n) ,
1 
2 2
Tμν i (n) = cos μ ωμ (n) eνi (n + μ) −  i jk
μ
and:
sin μ ωμ (n) 
ωμj (n) eνk (n + 
μ) + 2 ωμ i
(n)
 
1 1 1
i
Bμν (n) = 
ωμ
i
(n) sin μ ωμ (n) cos ν ων (n + 
μ) ωμj (n) sin2 μ ωμ (n) eνj (n + 
 μ) − eνi (n)
2 2 2
+ ωνi (n + 
μ) − (μ ↔ ν) .
1 ν 1
sin  ων (n +  μ) cos μ ωμ (n) −  i jk 
ωμj (n) The vanishing of Tμν i provides 9 conditions to solve for
2 2 
1 1 the 9 unknowns ωμ i (n) . The values of the spin connections
sin μ ωμ (n)  μ) sin ν ων (n + 
ωνk (n +  μ) .
2 2 are obtained numerically, and hence, the three-dimensional
discrete curvatures are obtained using Eq. (8).
Similarly, the next pair gives Equation 3 gives the expression of the scalar curvature in
the continuous case. We are going to compare it with what
 
1 1 we get from the discrete case. In the latter, the expression of
cos μ ωμ (n + 
ν) − i
ωμ ν) sin μ ωμ (n + 
i (n +  ν) σ i
2 2 the scalar curvature is given by:
 
1 1
cos ν ων (n) − i
ωνi (n) sin ν ων (n) σ i 1 1 1
2 2 R=2 R 3. . + R 1. . + R 2. . ,
i (n) .
= Aμν (n) − i Bνμ e1. e2. 12 e2. e3. 23 e3. e1. 31
1 2 2 3 3 1

which holds when i

is diagonal, which is the case here as
eμ
Thus, the total product is it is evident from Eq. 4. It is clear from (3) that there is a
singularity at z = 0 and at all points on the circle defined by
    u = 0. First, we will examine the domain where z is large,
i i i 1 i σi i σi
R σ = Aνμ + i Bμν Aμν − i Bνμ followed by an analysis of the domain where z is small.
2 μν 2μ ν
−μ ↔ ν)
i   3.1 The limit of large z
i − A B i + i i jk B j B k
= μ ν Aμν Bμν i
νμ νμ μν νμ σ ,
   
4 x 2 + y2
R→− 1+ . (10)
u u
giving the below result
2  The singularity at u = 0 is evident. Therefore, in order to
i
Rμν (n) = μ ν Aμν (n) Bμν
i
(n) − Aνμ (n) Bνμ
i
(n) determine the permissible range over which the curvature is
 

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Fig. 1 The rms error between the continuous and discrete values of the
scalar curvature in the limit of large z are plotted as a function of  for Fig. 2 R continuous and discrete for N = 35 and  = 0.15
different N , where  denotes the distance away from u = 0 where the
discretization is expected to hold. We note that the approach to  = 0
where the locus of the singularity leads to a blow-up in the RMS

well-behaved, we define 1 − x 2 − y 2 > , the range of coor-

dinates in the vicinity of the singularity. We note that  = 0
is the locus of u = 0 or equivalently x 2 + y 2 = 1, and thus
finding the right value of  is equivalent to finding the proper
cut-off to avoid the singularity. Therefore, we iterate over dif-
ferent values of  between 0 and 0.5 in increments of 0.05,
and calculate the mean-square error between the continuous
value of the scalar curvature and its discrete numerical coun-
terpart defined to be n1 in (Ri,con − Ri,numerical )2 . We repeat
the process for different values of N . The results are plotted
in Fig. 1. The different colors correspond to different values Fig. 3 The RMS error is followed as a function of z for N = 35 and
of N . We conclude from the plot that the error is converging  = 0.15
to zero for  = 0.15.
For  smaller than 0.15, we are close to the singularity
(u = 0) and the discretization method fails to agree with the of the discrete scalar curvature, we follow it together with
continuous limit as the RMS error between Rcon and Rdiscr ete its continuous counterpart in this domain. Figure 4 shows the
blows up. In the limit where they are in agreement, we show finiteness of Rdiscr ete as opposed to the large, near-singular
a sample in Fig. 2 for N = 35 and  = 0.15, where we plot behavior of Rcon . The inset shows their agreement away from
the values of Rcon and those of Rdiscr ete on the same graph the jumps.
with the index i denoting the element number in the curvature For very small z, we have sinh z → z and cosh z → 1,
vector associated with given coordinates xi , yi and z i .   
1 1 x2
R → −4 1 + 2 + y2 z2 + 2 (11)
z u z
3.2 The limit of small z  
1−y 2
−4 (12)
For a small value of z, we are in the region near the singularity uz 2
z = 0. Therefore, and following the same reasoning we did to
find  near u = 0, we limit z between z /N and 1 and follow with obvious asymmetry. Figure  5is obtained by plotting
1−y 2
the RMS between the continuous and discrete values of the Rdiscr ete and Rlimit = −4 uz 2 for small values of z,
scalar curvature. In Fig. 3, we show the RMS for N = 35 showing their agreement.
and  = 0.15, which allows us to define the lower cutoff Further, when x = 0 we get R → −4N 2 , displaying
near z = 0 below which the scalar curvature will blow up. clearly the singularity of the black hole. In Fig. 6, the discrete
It is evident from the plot that as z approaches 5, the error value of the scalar curvature is plotted for z N and x = 0
1

tends to zero. Further, in order to show the well-behavedness along with its expected limiting behavior, which is −4N 2 .

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1 4 Conclusion

In this paper, we applied the methodology used in [5] to define

the curvature of the discrete space in the proposed model of
discrete gravity. We considered the black hole coset space
metric. The singularities were studied, and the curvatures in
the discrete and continuous limits were compared close and
far away from the singularity. We found that as we move away
from the singularity, the rms error between the two curvatures
tends to zero. We also showed that near the singularity, the
discrete method is more reliable than the continuous.
Our contribution to the literature on black holes and
numerical relativity is that it introduces a discrete approach
complementing the prevailing continuum counterpart. This
sets the ground for the calculations of curvatures for arbitrary
surfaces. Further, the introduction of our method in the con-
Fig. 4 R continuous and discrete are followed for N = 35,  = 0.15,
z < 1, and z = 5. The inset shows their local agreement and makes it
text of naked singularities establishes a mathematical and
obvious that Rcon exhibits large near-singular jumps, which are avoided numerical framework to be generalized to 4D. Unlike the
in the discrete case general concern of numerical relativity in answering ques-
tions about dynamics around black holes and their properties
[2,9,10,12], our work is an experimentation on the limita-
tion of discrete gravity and its accompanying numerics and
whether it is generalizable to 4D. The next step is to address
how to calculate the metric and curvature of an arbitrary
closed surface.

Acknowledgements The work of A. H. C. is supported in part by the

National Science Foundation Grant No. Phys-2207663.

Data availability This manuscript has no associated data or the data

will not be deposited. [Authors’ comment: This is a theoretical study
and no experimental data.]

Code availability This manuscript has associated code/software in

a data repository. [Authors’ comment: This manuscript has asso-
2 ciated code in a data repository. The script used in the paper
Fig. 5 Rdiscr ete is compared with its limiting behavior 4( 1−y
uz 2
) for is available at the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/
small z gtpfyi67r4n9vh5pme3ea/h?rlkey=ihlonza5yuldapie06qoc01y0&dl=0.]

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Fig. 6 Rdiscr ete is compared with its limiting value −4N 2 for z ≈ 1
N
and x = 0

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