Related papers: Black Holes and Quantum Predictability
Bringing gravity into a quantum-mechanical framework is likely the most profound remaining problem in fundamental physics. The "unitarity crisis" for black hole evolution appears to be a key facet of this problem, whose resolution will…
Parallels between the measurement problem in quantum mechanics and the black hole information loss problem in quantum gravity are exhibited and then the attempted resolution of the latter in terms of the gauge/gravity duality is extended to…
A renormalizable theory of quantum gravity coupled to a dilaton and conformal matter in two space-time dimensions is analyzed. The theory is shown to be exactly solvable classically. Included among the exact classical solutions are…
A pedagogical discussion is given of some aspects of \lq\lq quantum black holes", primarily using recently developed two-dimensional models. After a short preliminary concerning classical black holes, we give several motivations for…
Quantum gravity is likely the deepest problem facing current physics. While traditionally associated with short distance nonrenormalizability, it is evident that the long distance problem of unitarity, arising at high energies with black…
A first-principles approach to the unitarity problem for black holes is systematically explored, based on the postulates of 1) quantum mechanics 2) the ability to approximately locally divide quantum gravitational systems into subsystems 3)…
We combine analytical and numerical techniques to study the collapse of conformally coupled massless scalar fields in semiclassical 2D dilaton gravity, with emphasis on solutions just below criticality when a black hole almost forms. We…
The process of black hole evaporation resulting from the Hawking effect has generated an intense controversy regarding its potential conflict with quantum mechanics' unitary evolution. In a recent couple of works of a collaboration…
The black-hole information paradox has fueled a fascinating effort to reconcile the predictions of general relativity and those of quantum mechanics. Gravitational considerations teach us that black holes must trap everything that falls…
Over the years, the so-called black hole information loss paradox has generated an amazingly diverse set of (often radical) proposals. However, forty years after the introduction of Hawking's radiation, there continues to be a debate…
Hawking's black hole information puzzle highlights the incompatibility between our present understanding of gravity and quantum physics. However, Hawking's prediction of black-hole evaporation is at a semiclassical level. One therefore…
This paper revisits the conundrum faced when one attempts to understand the dynamics of black hole formation and evaporation without abandoning unitary evolution. Previous efforts to resolve this puzzle assume that information escapes in…
Black holes are more than just odd-looking curiosities in gravity theory. They uniquely intertwine the basic principles of General Relativity with those of Quantum Theory. Just by demanding that they nevertheless obey acceptable laws of…
We propose a resolution to the black-hole information-loss paradox: in one formulation of physical theory, information is preserved and macroscopic causality is violated; in another, causality is preserved and pure states evolve to mixed…
The formation and evaporation of a black hole can be viewed as a scattering process in Quantum Gravity. Semiclassical arguments indicate that the process should be non-unitary, and that all the information of the original quantum state…
Various contenders for a complete theory of quantum gravity are at odds with each other. This is in particular seen in the ways they relate to information and black holes, and how to effectively treat quantization of the background…
These lectures give a pedagogical review of dilaton gravity, Hawking radiation, the black hole information problem, and black hole pair creation. (Lectures presented at the 1994 Trieste Summer School in High Energy Physics and Cosmology)
A succinct summary is given of the problem of reconciling observation of black hole-like objects with quantum mechanics. If quantum black holes behave like subsystems, and also decay, their information must be transferred to their…
A recently introduced discrete formalism allows to solve the problem of time in quantum gravity in a relational manner. Quantum mechanics formulated with a relational time is not exactly unitary and implies a fundamental mechanism for…
Black Holes have always played a central role in investigations of quantum gravity. This includes both conceptual issues such as the role of classical singularities and information loss, and technical ones to probe the consistency of…