An Effective Field Theory of Quantum Mechanical Black Hole Horizons

TL;DR

This paper introduces an effective field theory for quantum black hole horizons that enables calculation of quantum effects in scattering processes, revealing enhanced Hawking radiation effects in certain vacua.

Contribution

It develops a new EFT framework for quantum horizons, allowing detailed analysis of Hawking radiation and quantum effects in black hole scattering.

Findings

Hawking radiation effects are not Planck suppressed in the Unruh vacuum.

Quantum effects can be calculated at scales between Schwarzschild radius and black hole lifetime.

Classical observables see cancellation of non-Planck suppressed Hawking radiation effects.

Abstract

We develop an effective theory which describes black holes with quantum mechanical horizons that is valid at scales long compared to the Schwarzschild radius but short compared to the lifetime of the black hole. Our formalism allows one to calculate the quantum mechanical effects in scattering processes involving black hole asymptotic states. We point out that the EFT Wightman functions which describe Hawking radiation in the Unruh vacuum are not Planck suppressed and are actually {\it enhanced} relative to those in the Boulware vacuum, for which such radiation is absent. We elaborate on this point showing how the non-Planck suppressed effects of Hawking radiation cancel in classical observables.