nLab
Bekenstein-Hawking entropy

Context

Gravity

Physics

physics, mathematical physics

Surveys, textbooks and lecture notes


theory (physics), model (physics)

Contents

Idea

In gravity, Bekenstein-Hawking entropy is an entropy assigned to black hole, on the basis of laws of thermodynamics and observers outside black hole. It striking property is that it is proportional to the surface area of the balck hole’s horizon.

Properties

Interpretation in AdS/CFT correspondence

In the context of string theory BH entropy is explained by a version of the AdS/CFT correspondence. Here every black brane solution in supergravity is the strong-coupling limit of a D-brane worldvolume QFT. After KK-reduction these black brane configurations become ordinary black holes. The entropy of the D-brane worldvolume theories on the event horizon turns out to coincide with the BH entropy of the corresponding black hole.

Detailed computations exist in particular for D1-brane/D5-brane systems. This is parts of the AdS/CFT correspondence. See (AGMOO, chapter 5).

See also string theory results applied elsewhere.

Interpretation by strong coupling limit of D-branes

Another way to derive Bekenstein-Hawking entropy in string theory is by computing the entropy of weakly coupled open strings on D-brane configurations in flat Minkowski space which transmute as the coupling constant is increased to given (supersymmetric) black hole configurations. More on this is at black holes in string theory.

References

General

Basic introductory accounts include

Further developments are in

A related controversial article that spawned a lot of discussion is

  • Ahmed Almheiri, Donald Marolf, Joseph Polchinski, James Sully, Black holes: complementarity or firewalls?, (arXiv:1207.3123)

Interpretation in string theory

A survey of interpretation of black holes in string theory is in Chapter 5 of

See also

Interpretation as entanglement entropy

Discussions of the interpreation of BH entropy as entanglement entropy? include

Revised on April 18, 2013 19:35:54 by Urs Schreiber (131.174.41.88)