Related papers: Resolving the Structure of Black Holes: Philosophi…
This thesis investigates two main topics concerning black holes in extensions of general relativity inspired by string theory. First, the structure of the equations of motion underlying black hole solutions is considered, in theories of…
Black holes are the hydrogen atoms of quantum gravity. For instance solving the information loss paradox will likely require a deep understanding of how the long-sought quantum gravity theory works. In this thesis we explore how black holes…
The black-hole information paradox provides one of the sharpest foci for the conflict between quantum mechanics and general relativity and has become the proving-ground of would-be theories of quantum gravity. String theory has made…
The black-hole information paradox provides a stringent test of would-be theories of quantum gravity. String theory has made significant progress toward a resolution of this paradox, and has led to the fuzzball and microstate geometry…
On the basis of recently discovered connections between D-branes and black holes, I show how the information puzzle is solved by superstring theory as the fundamental theory of quantum gravity. The picture that emerges is that a…
We refine and extend a recent construction of sets of black hole microstates with semiclassical interiors that span a Hilbert space of dimension $e^S$, where $S$ is the black hole entropy. We elaborate on the definition and properties of…
The study of black holes in string theory has led to the discovery of deep and surprising connections between black holes and modular forms -- which are two classical, a priori unrelated, subjects. This article explains the main physical…
In string theory, black-hole backgrounds are far from unique and there are large families of completely smooth, horizonless geometries with the same structure as a black hole from infinity down to the neighborhood of the black-hole horizon.…
We give an elementary review of black holes in string theory. We discuss black hole entropy from string microstates and Hawking radiation from these states. We then review the structure of 2-charge microstates, and explore how…
Gravitational entropy arises in string theory via coarse graining over an underlying space of microstates. In this review we would like to address the question of how the classical black hole geometry itself arises as an effective or…
Microstate geometries are proposed microstates of black holes which can be described within supergravity. Even though their number may not reproduce the full entropy of black holes with finite-sized horizons, they still offer a glimpse into…
Microstate geometries in string theory replace the black-hole horizon with a smooth geometric "cap" at the horizon scale. In geometries constructed using superstratum technology, this cap has the somewhat surprising property that induces…
Computations in the calculable small coupling regime of string theories and the general consensus that no new physics has to be invoked in continuing to the large coupling (black hole) regime, suggest the following picture. Quantum states…
Supersymmetric solutions of supergravity have been of particular importance in the advances of string theory. This article reviews the current status of black hole solutions in higher-dimensional supergravity theories. We discuss primarily…
All known horizonless black-hole microstate geometries correspond to brane sources that acquire a finite size, and hence break the spherical symmetry of the black hole. We construct, for the first time, solutions with zero horizon area that…
Solutions to low energy string theory describing black holes and black strings are reviewed. Many of these solutions can be obtained by applying simple solution generating transformations to the Schwarzschild metric. In a few cases, the…
In this review article we describe some of the recent progress towards the construction and analysis of three-charge configurations in string theory and supergravity. We begin by describing the Born-Infeld construction of three-charge…
The statistical mechanics of black holes arbitrarily far from extremality is modeled by a gas of weakly interacting strings. As an effective low energy description of black holes the model provides a number of highly non-trivial consistency…
In string theory, black holes can be made from brane systems that are partially delocalized in string theory's extra dimensions. It is expected that they correspond to an ensemble of pure, horizonless microstates sourced by localized…
It is conventionally believed that if a ball of matter of mass $M$ has a radius close to $2GM$ then it must collapse to a black hole. But string theory microstates (fuzzballs) have no horizon or singularity, and they do {\it not} collapse.…