A glimpse at the flat-spacetime limit of quantum gravity using the Bekenstein argument in reverse

Abstract

An insightful argument for a linear relation between the entropy and the area of a black hole was given by Bekenstein using only the energy-momentum dispersion relation, the uncertainty principle, and some properties of classical black holes. Recent analyses within String Theory and Loop Quantum Gravity describe black-hole entropy in terms of a dominant contribution, which indeed depends linearly on the area, and a leading log-area correction. We argue that, by reversing the Bekenstein argument, the log-area correction can provide insight on the energy-momentum dispersion relation and the uncertainty principle of a quantum-gravity theory. As examples we consider the energy-momentum dispersion relations that recently emerged in the Loop Quantum Gravity literature and the Generalized Uncertainty Principle that is expected to hold in String Theory.