Black holes in String theory
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Since the seminal papers by Bekenstein and Hawking it
is known that quantum mechanically black holes should be described by
mixed states that obey thermodynamic relations analogous to those
describing non-gravitational systems. It is still a challenge today to
provide a consistent and complete quantum mechanical description of the
states (called microstates) that can explain statistically the
thermodynamic laws mentioned above. The project will focus on this problem
from a string theory perspective and aims to better characterise the
generic properties of the microstates for different types of black holes.
In particular, in string theory, black holes are realised as bound states
of many basic constituents, such as perturbative string states and branes.
Different techniques, ranging from the use of the AdS/CFT duality to that
of string amplitudes in presence of D-branes, will be employed to derive
quantitative information on the nature of the relevant microstates.
is known that quantum mechanically black holes should be described by
mixed states that obey thermodynamic relations analogous to those
describing non-gravitational systems. It is still a challenge today to
provide a consistent and complete quantum mechanical description of the
states (called microstates) that can explain statistically the
thermodynamic laws mentioned above. The project will focus on this problem
from a string theory perspective and aims to better characterise the
generic properties of the microstates for different types of black holes.
In particular, in string theory, black holes are realised as bound states
of many basic constituents, such as perturbative string states and branes.
Different techniques, ranging from the use of the AdS/CFT duality to that
of string amplitudes in presence of D-branes, will be employed to derive
quantitative information on the nature of the relevant microstates.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Rodolfo Russo (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Marcel Hughes (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST/S505663/1 | 01/10/2018 | 30/09/2022 | |||
| 2109398 | Studentship | ST/S505663/1 | 01/10/2018 | 30/09/2021 | Marcel Hughes |
| Description | Generally, we study the individual microstates of certain supersymmetric black holes, arrising from string theoretic constructions, using the tools afforded by the AdS3/CFT2 correspondence. Through this, these microstates can be described equivalently by heavy states in a two-dimensional field theory, in which we study the physics of scattering supergravity fields from these black hole microstates. Using known relations between the eikonal phase derived in the bulk picture and the anomalous dimensions and 3-point functions of certain double-trace operators, we analysed the crossing equations in the Regge limit for holographic correlation functions containing heavy and light operators, finding that: the minimal solution relevant for conical defect geometries (dual to thermal mixed states) is different to the solution implied by the black hole microstate geometries (dual to pure states). We also generalised the holographic relations between the eikonal phase and anomalous dimensions and 3-point functions of certain double-trace operatorsto be valid for spacetimes arbitrarily deformed away from pure empty AdS. |
| Exploitation Route | The outcomes of this and, hopefully, future work adds to a growing understanding of black holes and the fundamental difference between their classical description from general relativity and a more fine-grained decription in a microscopically sound theory. From a theoretical standpoint, understanding black holes at a microscopic level is highly likely to shed much needed light on fundamental theories describing gravity. Experimentally, with the ongoing success of gravitational wave detections from black hole mergers, it is not unreasonable to think that such differences between descriptions of black holes at the fundamental level could become relevent in interpreting their collected data. |
| Sectors | Other |