Related papers: Can One Understand Black Hole Entropy without Know…
I review some recent work in which the quantum states of string theory which are associated with certain black holes have been identified and counted. For large black holes, the number of states turns out to be precisely the exponential of…
A key test of any quantum theory of gravity is its ability to reproduce the known thermodynamic properties of black holes. A statistical mechanical description of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy once seemed remote, but today we suffer an…
The concept of black hole entropy is one of the most important enigmas of theoretical physics. It relates thermodynamics to gravity and allows substantial hints toward a quantum theory of gravitation. Although Bekenstein conjecture…
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.…
We present a coherent picture of the quantum mechanics of black holes. The picture does not require the introduction of any drastically new physical effect beyond what is already known; it arises mostly from synthesizing and…
We argue that the statistical entropy relevant for the thermal interactions of a black hole with its surroundings is (the logarithm of) the number of quantum microstates of the hole which are distinguishable from the hole's exterior, and…
To explain black hole thermodynamics in quantum gravity, one must introduce constraints to ensure that a black hole is actually present. I show that for a large class of black holes, such ``horizon constraints'' allow the use of conformal…
A deeper understanding of the thermal properties of black holes than we presently have depends to a large degree on obtaining a firmer grasp of the properties of the entropy. For such an understanding we must at least know the basic…
To derive black hole thermodynamics in any quantum theory of gravity, one must introduce constraints that ensure that a black hole is actually present. For a large class of black holes, the imposition of such ``horizon constraints'' allows…
An elementary introduction is given to the problem of black hole entropy as formulated by Bekenstein and Hawking. The information theoretic basis of Bekenstein's formulation is briefly reviewed and compared with Hawking's approach. 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…
The comparison of geometrical properties of black holes with classical thermodynamic variables reveals surprising parallels between the laws of black hole mechanics and the laws of thermodynamics. Since Hawking's discovery that black holes…
A brief overview of the discovery that macroscopic black holes are thermodynamical systems is presented. They satisfy the laws of thermodynamics and are associated with a temperature and an entropy equal to one quarter of their horizon area…
It is commonplace, in the literature, to find that the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy has been endowed with having an explicit statistical interpretation. In the following essay, we discuss why such a viewpoint warrants a certain degree of…
Restricted to a black hole horizon, the ``gauge'' algebra of surface deformations in general relativity contains a Virasoro subalgebra with a calculable central charge. The fields in any quantum theory of gravity must transform accordingly,…
We demonstrate how Sakharov's idea of induced gravity allows one to explain the statistical-mechanical origin of the entropy of a black hole. According to this idea, gravity becomes dynamical as the result of quantum effects in the system…
I argue that black hole entropy counts only those states of a black hole that can influence the outside, and attempt (with only partial success) to defend this claim against various objections, all but one coming from string theory.…
We give a brief overview of black hole entropy, covering a few main developments since Bekenstein's original proposal
Black holes monopolize nowadays the center stage of fundamental physics. Yet, they are poorly understood objects. Notwithstanding, from their generic properties, one can infer important clues to what a fundamental theory, a theory that…
We review recent progress in our understanding of the physics of black holes. In particular, we discuss the ideas from string theory that explain the entropy of black holes from a counting of microstates of the hole, and the related…