# Quantum fluctuating geometries and the information paradox

## TL;DR

This paper investigates how quantum fluctuations of spacetime during black hole formation affect Hawking radiation, revealing potential information retention and quantum effects near horizons without considering back reaction.

## Contribution

It introduces a model of quantum spacetime superpositions for collapsing shells, showing deviations from thermality in Hawking radiation due to quantum corrections.

## Key findings

- Departures from thermality in radiation profiles
- Quantum corrections encode initial state information
- Quantum effects can occur in low curvature regions near horizons

## Abstract

We study Hawking radiation on the quantum space-time of a collapsing null shell. We use the geometric optics approximation as in Hawking's original papers to treat the radiation. The quantum space-time is constructed by superposing the classical geometries associated with collapsing shells with uncertainty in their position and mass. We show that there are departures from thermality in the radiation even though we are not considering back reaction. One recovers the usual profile for the Hawking radiation as a function of frequency in the limit where the space-time is classical. However, when quantum corrections are taken into account, the profile of the Hawking radiation as a function of time contains information about the initial state of the collapsing shell. More work will be needed to determine if all the information can be recovered. The calculations show that non-trivial quantum effects can occur in regions of low curvature when horizons are involved, as for instance advocated in the firewall scenario.