Tunneling between single and multi-centered black hole configurations

TL;DR

This paper constructs a gravitational instanton that models quantum tunneling between single-centered and multi-centered extremal Reissner-Nordstrom black holes, linking entropy differences to tunneling amplitudes.

Contribution

It introduces a new gravitational instanton solution that describes tunneling between different black hole configurations, providing a quantitative link to entropy changes.

Findings

The instanton connects single and multi-centered black holes.

Tunneling amplitude equals half the entropy difference.

Provides a new perspective on black hole quantum transitions.

Abstract

We find a gravitational instanton that connects an initial state corresponding to a single-centered extremal Reissner-Nordstrom (ERN) black hole configuration, to a final state corresponding to a multi-centered configuration. This instanton is interpreted as describing quantum tunneling between the two different black hole solutions. We evaluate the Euclidean action for this instanton and find that the amplitude for the tunneling process is equal to half the difference in entropy between the initial and final configurations.