Related papers: How strings solve the apparent contradiction betwe…
A very brief review is given of some of the developments leading to our current understanding of black holes in string theory. This is followed by a discussion of two possible misconceptions in this subject - one involving the stability of…
This thesis is devoted to trying to find a microscopic quantum description of black holes. We consider black holes in string theory which is a quantum theory of gravity. We find that the ``area law'' black hole entropy for extremal and…
The entropy and information puzzles arising from black holes cannot be resolved if quantum gravity effects remain confined to a microscopic scale. We use concrete computations in nonperturbative string theory to argue for three kinds of…
Quantum black holes have been studied extensively in quantum gravity and string theory, using various semiclassical or background dependent approaches. We explore the possibility of studying black holes in the full non-perturbative quantum…
The classical Bekenstein entropy of a black hole is argued to arise from configurations of strings with ends which are frozen on the horizon. Quantum corrections to this entropy are probably finite unlike the case in quantum field theory.…
I review some recent work (done in collaboration with G. Veneziano) which clarifies the existence of a correspondence between self-gravitating fundamental string states and Schwarzschild black holes. The main result is a detailed…
String theory provides an example of the kind of apparent inconsistency that the {\it Principle of Black Hole Complementarity\/} deals with. To a freely infalling observer a string falling through a black hole horizon appears to be a Planck…
For most black holes in string theory, the Schwarzschild radius in string units decreases as the string coupling is reduced. We formulate a correspondence principle, which states that (i) when the size of the horizon drops below the size of…
We study the size distribution of very massive close string states and the typical string configuration as one slowly increase the string coupling, both in the case of zero and of non-zero Neveu-Schwarz charges. The computations are…
In these lectures we review the quantum physics of large Schwarzschild black holes. Hawking's information paradox, the theory of the stretched horizon and the principle of black hole complementarity are covered. We then discuss how the…
After recalling the definition of black holes, and reviewing their energetics and their classical thermodynamics, one expounds the conjecture of Bekenstein, attributing an entropy to black holes, and the calculation by Hawking of the…
We determine coherent states peaked at classical space-time of the Schwarzschild black hole in the frame-work of canonical quantisation of general relativity. The information about the horizon is naturally encoded in the phase space…
We present a quantum description of black holes given by coherent states of gravitons sourced by a matter core. The expected behaviour in the weak-field region outside the horizon is recovered, with arbitrarily good approximation, but the…
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…
This paper puts forward a conjecture that there are no black holes in M theory. We will show that a mechanism to prevent black hole formation is needed in 4 dimensions to make string theory a viable high energy model of quantum gravity.…
There appears to be a duality between elementary particles, which span the mass range below the Planck scale, and black holes, which span the mass range range above it. In particular, the Black Hole Uncertainty Principle Correspondence…
Thirty years of a deepening information paradox suggest the need to revise our basic physical framework. Multiple indicators point toward reassessment of the principle of locality: lack of a precise definition in quantum gravity, behavior…
A general formulation of the basic conflict of the information problem is given, encapsulated in a "black hole theorem." This is framed in a more general context than the usual one of quantum field theory on a background, and is based on…
The theory of quadratic forms and class numbers has connections to many classical problems in number theory. Recently, class numbers have appeared in the study of black holes in string theory. We describe this connection and raise questions…
We find exact solutions of the Einstein equations which describe a black hole pierced by infinitely thin cosmic strings. The string segments enter the black hole along the radii and their positions coincide with the symmetry axes of a…