Lost Horizon? -- Modeling Black Holes in String Theory

TL;DR

This paper reviews how string theory models black holes, deriving classical solutions and entropy, and discusses implications for black hole thermodynamics, the information paradox, and the nature of space.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive string-theoretic derivation of black hole solutions and entropy, linking quantum gravity models with thermodynamics and philosophical questions.

Findings

Successful derivation of black hole entropy in string theory

Insights into the information paradox from string models

Implications for the nature of space in quantum gravity

Abstract

The modeling of black holes is an important desideratum for any quantum theory of gravity. Not only is a classical black hole metric sought, but also agreement with the laws of black hole thermodynamics. In this paper, we describe how these goals are obtained in string theory. We review black hole thermodynamics, and then explicate the general stringy derivation of classical spacetimes, the construction of a simple black hole solution, and the derivation of its entropy. With that in hand, we address some important philosophical and conceptual questions: the confirmatory value of the derivation, the bearing of the model on recent discussions of the so-called 'information paradox', and the implications of the model for the nature of space.