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arXiv · gr-qc/9702017

Statistical Mechanics and Black Hole Thermodynamics

Steven Carlip
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Abstract

Black holes are thermodynamic objects, but despite recent progress, the ultimate statistical mechanical origin of black hole temperature and entropy remains mysterious. Here I summarize an approach in which the entropy is viewed as arising from ``would-be pure gauge'' degrees of freedom that become dynamical at the horizon. For the (2+1)-dimensional black hole, these degrees of freedom can be counted, and yield the correct Bekenstein-Hawking entropy; the corresponding problem in 3+1 dimensions remains open.

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Steven Carlip. 1997-02-08. Statistical Mechanics and Black Hole Thermodynamics. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0920-5632(97)00348-4

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