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arXiv · gr-qc/0702094

Black Hole Entropy and the Problem of Universality

Steven Carlip
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Abstract

A key test of any quantum theory of gravity is its ability to reproduce the known thermodynamic properties of black holes. A statistical mechanical description of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy once seemed remote, but today we suffer an embarrassment of riches: many different approaches to quantum gravity yield the same entropy, despite counting very different states. This ``universality'' suggests that some underlying feature of the classical theory may control the quantum density of states. I discuss the possibility that this feature is an approximate two-dimensional conformal symmetry near the horizon.

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Steven Carlip. 2007-02-16. Black Hole Entropy and the Problem of Universality. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596%2F67%2F1%2F012022

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