Two quantum field theories whose Hilbert spaces do not overlap cannot transmit a signal to one another. From this simple principle, we deduce some highly nontrivial consequences for holographic quantum gravity. These include: (i) certain cosmological bounces are forbidden, (ii) generic singularities inside black holes cannot be resolved, and (iii) traversable wormholes do not exist. At the classical level, this principle rules out certain types of naked singularities and suggests that new singularity theorems should exist.

• Received 3 November 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.93.026005