Topological Born–Infeld-dilaton black holes

We construct a new analytic solution of Einstein–Born–Infeld-dilaton theory in the presence of Liouville-type potentials for the dilaton field. These solutions describe dilaton black holes with nontrivial topology and nonlinear electrodynamics. Black hole horizons and cosmological horizons in these spacetimes, can be a two-dimensional positive, zero or negative constant curvature surface. The asymptotic behavior of these solutions are neither flat nor (A)dS. We calculate the conserved and thermodynamic quantities of these solutions and verify that these quantities satisfy the first law of black hole thermodynamics.     

Quantum CTC's in General Relativity

We review different spacetimes that contain nonchronal regions separated from the causal regions by chronology horizons and investigate their connection with some important aspects one would expect to be present in a final theory of quantum gravity, including: stability to classical and quantum metric fluctuations, boundary conditions of the universe and gravitational topological defects corresponding to spacetime kinks.     

Anti-de Sitter quotients,bubbles of nothing,and black holes

In 3+1 dimensions there are anti-de Sitter quotients which are black holes with toroidal event horizons. By analytic continuation of the Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter solution (and appropriate identifications) one finds two one parameter families of spacetimes that contain these quotient black holes. One of these families consists of B-metrics (“bubbles of nothing”), the other of black hole spacetimes. All of them have vanishing conserved charges. I. Bengtsson was supported by VR.     

Concept of temperature in multi-horizon spacetimes: analysis of Schwarzschild–De Sitter metric

In case of spacetimes with single horizon, there exist several well- established procedures for relating the surface gravity of the horizon to a thermodynamic temperature. Such procedures, however, cannot be extended in a straightforward manner when a spacetime has multiple horizons. In particular, it is not clear whether there exists a notion of global temperature characterizing the multi-horizon spacetimes. We examine the conditions under which a global temperature can exist for a spacetime with two horizons using the example of Schwarzschild–De Sitter (SDS) spacetime. We systematically extend different procedures (like the expectation value of stress tensor, response of particle detectors, periodicity in the Euclidean time etc.) for identifying a temperature in the case of spacetimes with single horizon to the SDS spacetime. This analysis is facilitated by using a global coordinate chart which covers the entire SDS manifold. We find that all the procedures lead to a consistent picture characterized by the following features: (a) In general, SDS spacetime behaves like a non-equilibrium system characterized by two temperatures. (b) It is not possible to associate a global temperature with SDS spacetime except when the ratio of the two surface gravities is rational. (c) Even when the ratio of the two surface gravities is rational, the thermal nature depends on the coordinate chart used. There exists a global coordinate chart in which there is global equilibrium temperature while there exist other charts in which SDS behaves as though it has two different temperatures. The coordinate dependence of the thermal nature is reminiscent of the flat spacetime in Minkowski and Rindler coordinate charts. The implications are discussed.     

Time-Symmetric Quantization in Spacetimes with Event Horizons

The standard quantization formalism in spacetimes with event horizons implies a non-unitary evolution of quantum states, as initial pure states may evolve into thermal states. This phenomenon is behind the famous black hole information loss paradox which provoked long-standing debates on the compatibility of quantum mechanics and gravity. In this paper we demonstrate that within an alternative time-symmetric quantization formalism thermal radiation is absent and states evolve unitarily in spacetimes with event horizons. We also discuss the theoretical consistency of the proposed formalism. We explicitly demonstrate that the theory preserves the microcausality condition and suggest a “reinterpretation postulate” to resolve other apparent pathologies associated with negative energy states. Accordingly as there is a consistent alternative, we argue that choosing to use time-asymmetric quantization is a necessary condition for the black hole information loss paradox.     

Neighborhoods of Cauchy horizons in cosmological spacetimes with one killing field

In this paper we show how to construct an infinite dimensional family of analytic, vacuum spacetimes which each have (i) T³ × R topology, (ii) a smooth, compact Cauchy horizon, and (iii) a single Killing vector field which is spacelike in the globally hyperbolic region, null on the horizon and timelike in the (acausal) extension. The key idea is to use the horizons themselves as initial data surfaces and to prove the local existence of solutions using a version of the Cauchy-Kowalewski theorem. Factoring by the action of analytic, horizon preserving diffeomorphisms we define a “space of extendible vacuum spacetimes” of the given symmetry type and show (modulo certain smoothness estimates which we do not attempt to derive) that this space defines a Lagrangian submanifold of the usual phase space for Einstein's equations. We also study the linear perturbations of a class of the extendible spacetimes and show that the generic such perturbation blows up near the background solution's Cauchy horizon. This result, though limited by the linearity of the approximation, conforms to the usual picture of unstable Cauchy horizons demanded by the strong cosmic censorship conjecture.     

Quantum field theory in black hole-type spacetimes with horizons

Using quantum field theory in black hole-type spacetimes with horizons, which includes all the black hole solutions and also some other interesting solutions in general relativity, we obtain Hawking's thermal spectrum of Dirac particles near the event horizon as well as the cosmological horizon of the spacetime.     

Area invariance of apparent horizons under arbitrary Lorentz boosts

It is a well known analytic result in general relativity that the 2-dimensional area of the apparent horizon of a black hole remains invariant regardless of the motion of the observer, and in fact is independent of the t = constant slice, which can be quite arbitrary in general relativity. Nonetheless the explicit computation of horizon area is often substantially more difficult in some frames (complicated by the coordinate form of the metric), than in other frames. Here we give an explicit demonstration for very restricted metric forms of (Schwarzschild and Kerr) vacuum black holes. In the Kerr–Schild coordinate expression for these spacetimes they have an explicit Lorentz-invariant form. We consider boosted versions with the black hole moving through the coordinate system. Since these are stationary black hole spacetimes, the apparent horizons are two dimensional cross sections of their event horizons, so we compute the areas of apparent horizons in the boosted space with (boosted) t = constant, and obtain the same result as in the unboosted case. Note that while the invariance of area is generic, we deal only with black holes in the Kerr–Schild form, and consider only one particularly simple change of slicing which amounts to a boost. Even with these restrictions we find that the results illuminate the physics of the horizon as a null surface and provide a useful pedagogical tool. As far as we can determine, this is the first explicit calculation of this type demonstrating the area invariance of horizons. Further, these calculations are directly relevant to transformations that arise in computational representation of moving black holes. We present an application of this result to initial data for boosted black holes.     

Modular inclusion,the Hawking temperature,and quantum field theory in curved spacetime

A recent result by Borchers connecting geometric modular action, modular inclusion and spectrum condition, is applied in quantum field theory on spacetimes with a bifurcate Killing horizon (these are generalizations of black-hole spacetimes, comprising the familiar black-hole spacetime models). Within this framework, we give sufficient, model-independent conditions ensuring that the temperature of thermal equilibrium quantum states is the Hawking temperature.     

Interior of a Schwarzschild Black Hole Revisited

The Schwarzschild solution has played a fundamental conceptual role in general relativity, and beyond, for instance, regarding event horizons, spacetime singularities and aspects of quantum field theory in curved spacetimes. However, one still encounters the existence of misconceptions and a certain ambiguity inherent in the Schwarzschild solution in the literature. By taking into account the point of view of an observer in the interior of the event horizon, one verifies that new conceptual difficulties arise. In this work, besides providing a very brief pedagogical review, we further analyze the interior Schwarzschild black hole solution. Firstly, by deducing the interior metric by considering time-dependent metric coefficients, the interior region is analyzed without the prejudices inherited from the exterior geometry. We also pay close attention to several respective cosmological interpretations, and briefly address some of the difficulties associated to spacetime singularities. Secondly, we deduce the conserved quantities of null and timelike geodesics, and discuss several particular cases in some detail. Thirdly, we examine the Eddington–Finkelstein and Kruskal coordinates directly from the interior solution. In concluding, it is important to emphasize that the interior structure of realistic black holes has not been satisfactorily determined, and is still open to considerable debate.     

On the Origin of Entropic Gravity and Inertia

It was recently suggested that quantum field theory is not fundamental but emerges from the loss of phase space information about matter crossing causal horizons. Possible connections between this formalism and Verlinde’s entropic gravity and Jacobson’s thermodynamic gravity are proposed. The holographic screen in Verlinde’s formalism can be identified as local Rindler horizons and its entropy as that of the bulk fields beyond the horizons. This naturally resolves some issues on entropic gravity. The quantum fluctuation of the fields is the origin of the thermodynamic nature of entropic gravity. It is also suggested that inertia is related to dragging Rindler horizons.     

The dangers of extremes

While extreme black hole spacetimes with smooth horizons are known at the level of mathematics, we argue that the horizons of physical extreme black holes are effectively singular. Test particles encounter a singularity the moment they cross the horizon, and only objects with significant back-reaction can fall across a smooth (now non-extreme) horizon. As a result, classical interior solutions for extreme black holes are theoretical fictions that need not be reproduced by any quantum mechanical model. This observation suggests that significant quantum effects might be visible outside extreme or nearly extreme black holes. It also suggests that the microphysics of such black holes may be very different from that of their Schwarzschild cousins.     

Causal boundary entropy from horizon conformal field theory

The effective quantum theory of near horizon regions of classical four-dimensional spatially flat, Friedman-Robertson-Walker spacetimes is shown to be approximately a two-dimensional conformal field theory. The central charge and expectation value of the Hamiltonian of this theory, and the statistical entropy of horizon states which can be calculated using Cardy's formula, are all proportional to the horizon area in units of Newton's constant. The proportionality constant which is determined by Planck scale physics can be fixed such that the entropy is equal to a quarter of the horizon area in units of Newton's constant, in agreement with thermodynamic considerations.     

Black Holes as Atoms

Stationary spacetimes containing a black hole have several properties akin to those of atoms. For instance, such spacetimes have only three classical degrees of freedom, or observables, which may be taken to be the mass, the angular momentum, and the electric charge of the hole. There are several arguments supporting a proposal originally made by Bekenstein that quantization of these classical degrees of freedom gives an equal spacing for the horizon area spectrum of black holes. We review some of these arguments and introduce a specific Hamiltonian quantum theory of black holes. Our Hamiltonian quantum theory gives, among other things, a discrete spectrum for the classical observables, and it produces an area spectrum which is closely related to Bekenstein's proposal. We also present a foamlike model of horizons of spacetime. In our model spacetime horizon consists of microscopic Schwarzschild black holes. Applying our Hamiltonian approach to this model we find that the entropy of any horizon is one quarter of its area.     

The Effective Theory of Strings

We show that the Nambu–Goto string, and its higher dimensional generalizations, can be quantized, in the sense of an effective theory, in any dimension of the target space. The crucial point is to consider expansions around classical string configurations. We are using tools from perturbative algebraic quantum field theory, quantum field theory on curved spacetimes, and the Batalin–Vilkovisky formalism. Our model has some similarities with the Lüscher–Weisz string, but we allow for arbitrary classical background string configurations and keep the diffeomorphism invariance.     

Expanding the Area of Gravitational Entropy

I describe how gravitational entropy is intimately connected with the concept of gravitational heat, expressed as the difference between the total and free energies of a given gravitational system. From this perspective one can compute these thermodyanmic quantities in settings that go considerably beyond Bekenstein's original insight that the area of a black hole event horizon can be identified with thermodynamic entropy. The settings include the outsides of cosmological horizons and spacetimes with NUT charge. However the interpretation of gravitational entropy in these broader contexts remains to be understood.     

U(1)-Gauge Theory of Fermions in Spacetimes with Horizons

A U(1)-gauge theory of fermions is obtained inspacetimes having horizons, including physicallyinteresting black-hole spacetimes as well as unphysicalspacetimes like NUT.     

Quantum Fields Obtained from Convoluted Generalized White Noise Never Have Positive Metric

It is proven that the relativistic quantum fields obtained from analytic continuation of convoluted generalized (Lévy type) noise fields have positive metric, if and only if the noise is Gaussian. This follows as an easy observation from a criterion by Baumann, based on the Dell’Antonio–Robinson–Greenberg theorem, for a relativistic quantum field in positive metric to be a free field.