Related papers: Black hole complementarity and firewall in two dim…
To implement the consistent black hole complementarity principle, we need two assumptions: first, there exists a singularity near the center, and second, global horizons are the same as local horizons. However, these assumptions are not…
We propose that the vacuum state of a scalar field around a black hole is a modified Unruh vacuum. In (1+1) dimensions, we show that a free-faller close to such an horizon can be modelled as an inertial observer in a modified Minkowski…
Three postulates asserting the validity of conventional quantum theory, semi-classical general relativity and the statistical basis for thermodynamics are introduced as a foundation for the study of black hole evolution. We explain how…
We comment on a recent paper of Almheiri, Marolf, Polchinski and Sully who argue against black hole complementarity based on the claim that an infalling observer 'burns' as he approaches the horizon. We show that in fact measurements made…
Black hole complementarity, as originally formulated in the 1990's by Preskill, 't Hooft, and myself is now being challenged by the Almheiri-Marolf-Polchinski-Sully firewall argument. The AMPS argument relies on an implicit assumption---the…
The unitary moving mirror model is one of the best quantum systems for checking the reasoning of the original firewall paradox of AMPS in quantum black holes. Though the late-time part of radiations emitted from the mirror is fully…
Following the recent trend we develop further the black hole analogy between quantum information theory and the theory of extremal stringy black hole solutions. We show that the three-qubit interpretation of supersymmetric black hole…
Black hole complementarity has been well understood in spherically symmetric black holes. To study its validity for an accelerating Schwarzschild black hole, which has a preferred direction, we perform the thought experiment proposed by…
In this note I argue that a version of complementarity is possible which evades the need for the "firewalls" recently proposed by Almheiri, Marolf, Polchinski, and Sully to burn up observers falling into black hole horizons. In particular I…
Firewalls in black holes are easiest to understand by imposing time reversal invariance, together with a unitary evolution law. The best approach seems to be to split up the time span of a black hole into short periods, during which no…
The firewall paradox is often presented as arising from double entanglement, but I argue that more generally the paradox is double purity. Near-horizon modes are purified by the interior, in the infalling vacuum. Hence they cannot also be…
We discuss the black hole information problem, including the recent claim that unitarity requires a horizon firewall, emphasizing the role of decoherence and macroscopic superpositions. We consider the formation and evaporation of a large…
We present a further argument that typical black holes with field theory duals have firewalls at the horizon. This argument makes no reference to entanglement between the black hole and any distant system, and so is not evaded by…
We revisit our investigation of the claim of [1] that old black holes contain a firewall, i.e. an in-falling observer encounters highly excited states at a time much shorter than the light crossing time of the Schwarzschild radius. We used…
Computational complexity is essential to understanding the properties of black hole horizons. The problem of Alice creating a firewall behind the horizon of Bob's black hole is a problem of computational complexity. In general we find that…
We present a quantum theory of black hole (and other) horizons, in which the standard assumptions of complementarity are preserved without contradicting information theoretic considerations. After the scrambling time, the quantum mechanical…
Forty years after the discovery of Hawking radiation, its exact nature remains elusive. If Hawking radiation does not carry any information out from the ever shrinking black hole, it seems that unitarity is violated once the black hole…
Almheiri, Marolf, Polchinski, and Sully, recently claimed that once a black hole has radiated more than half its initial entropy (the Page time), the horizon is replaced by a "firewall" at which infalling observers burn up, in apparent…
Black Holes are unique objects which allow for meaningful theoretical studies of strong gravity and even quantum gravity effects. An infalling and a distant observer would have very different views on the structure of the world. However, a…
In this MSc. thesis, we have attempted to give an overview of the firewall paradox and various approaches towards its resolution. After an introductory chapter on some basic concepts in quantum field theory in curved spacetimes such as…