From black holes to emergent gravity

TL;DR

This paper proposes that the universality of black hole properties stems from conformal symmetry modes near the horizon, supporting the idea that gravity is an emergent, statistical phenomenon.

Contribution

It demonstrates how conformal symmetry modes lead to black hole universality and derives thermodynamic relations, suggesting gravity's emergent nature from underlying microscopic degrees of freedom.

Findings

Conformal modes explain black hole universality.

Entropy is equivalent to the action, indicating emergent gravity.

Derivation of a thermodynamic relation S=E/(2T) for black holes.

Abstract

Many inequivalent approaches to study black holes yield identical results. Any meaningful theory of gravity should explain the origin of this property. Here we show that the basic holomorphic modes characterising the underlying two dimensional conformal symmetry near the horizon bring about this universality. Moreover these modes lead to a law of equipartition of energy for black holes which suggests a statistical origin of gravity. This emergent nature of gravity is further bolstered by showing the equivalence of entropy with the action $\left(S=-\frac{i}{\hbar}\,I\right)$ and expressing the generalised Smarr formula for mass as a thermodynamic relation, $S=\frac{E}{2T}$ where $S$, $E$ and $T$ are the entropy, energy and temperature, respectively, of a black hole.