Related papers: Black Hole Entropy and the Problem of Universality
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…
Black holes behave as thermodynamic systems, and a central task of any quantum theory of gravity is to explain these thermal properties. A statistical mechanical description of black hole entropy once seemed remote, but today we suffer an…
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…
It is a common belief now that the explanation of the microscopic origin of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of black holes should be available in quantum gravity theory, whatever this theory will finally look like. Calculations of the…
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,…
To ask a question about a black hole in quantum gravity, one must restrict initial or boundary data to ensure that a black hole is actually present. For two-dimensional dilaton gravity, and probably a much wider class of theories, I show…
We search for a universal property of quantum gravity. By "universal", we mean the independence from any existing model of quantum gravity (such as the super string theory, loop quantum gravity, causal dynamical triangulation, and so on).…
Black hole entropy appears to be ``universal''--many independent calculations, involving models with very different microscopic degrees of freedom, all yield the same density of states. I discuss the proposal that this universality comes…
The basic features of a quantum field theory which is Poincar\'e invariant, gauge invariant, finite and unitary to all orders of perturbation theory are reviewed. Quantum gravity is finite and unitary to all orders of perturbation theory.…
This paper consists of three steps. In the first, we prove that the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy is the unique expression of black hole entropy. Our proof is constructed in the framework of thermodynamics without any statistical discussion.…
To ask a question about a black hole in quantum gravity, one must restrict initial or boundary data to ensure that a black hole is actually present. For two-dimensional dilaton gravity, and probably a much wider class of theories as well,…
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…
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…
The issue of black hole entropy is reexamined within a finite lattice framework along the lines of Wheeler, 't Hooft and Susskind, with an additional criterion to identify physical horizon states contributing to the entropy. As a…
One quantum characterization of a black hole motivated by (local) holography and thermodynamics is that it maximizes thermodynamic entropy for a given surface area. In the context of quantum gravity, this could be more fundamental than the…
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…
String theory and ``quantum geometry'' have recently offered independent statistical mechanical explanations of black hole thermodynamics. But these successes raise a new problem: why should models with such different microscopic degrees of…
We present an overall picture of the advances in the description of black hole physics from the perspective of loop quantum gravity. After an introduction that discusses the main conceptual issues we present some details about the classical…
Black holes exist all over our Universe, possessing a very wide range of masses. At the moment, they serve as a probe to test general relativity at astrophysical scales, but in the future they may also give us information about gravity at…
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…