Quantum black holes, localization and the topological string

TL;DR

This paper employs localization techniques to exactly evaluate the quantum entropy of supersymmetric black holes in 4d, linking it to topological string theory and including all quantum corrections.

Contribution

It introduces a universal localization method for string field theory on AdS_2xS^2, connecting black hole entropy with topological string partition functions at off-shell values.

Findings

Exact localization reduces the functional integral to a finite-dimensional integral.

The classical integrand matches the absolute square of the topological string partition function.

Provides a framework to compute all quantum corrections to black hole entropy.

Abstract

We use localization to evaluate the functional integral of string field theory on AdS_2xS^2 background corresponding to the near horizon geometry of supersymmetric black holes in 4d compactifications with N=2 supersymmetry. In particular, for a theory containing n_v + 1 vector multiplets, we show that the functional integral localizes exactly onto an ordinary integral over a finite-dimensional submanifold in the field space labeling a continuous family of instanton solutions in which auxiliary fields in the vector multiplets are excited with nontrivial dependence on AdS_2 coordinates. These localizing solutions are universal in that they follow from the off-shell supersymmetry transformations and do not depend on the choice of the action. They are parametrized by n_v +1 real parameters C^I, ; I= 0,..., n_v that correspond to the values of the auxiliary fields at the center of AdS_2. In the Type-IIA frame, assuming D-terms evaluate to zero on the solutions for reasons of supersymmetry, the classical part of the integrand equals the absolute square of the partition function of the topological string as conjectured by Ooguri, Strominger, and Vafa; however evaluated at the off-shell values of scalar fields at the center of AdS_2. In addition, there are contributions from one-loop determinants, brane-instantons, and nonperturbative orbifolds that are in principle computable. These results thus provide a concrete method to compute exact quantum entropy of these black holes including all perturbative and nonperturbative corrections and can be used to establish a precise relation between the quantum degeneracies of black holes and the topological string.