The Statistical Mechanics of Horizons and Black Hole Thermodynamics

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new approach to black hole thermodynamics that attributes entropy and temperature to horizon-bound gauge degrees of freedom, successfully reproducing the entropy for (2+1)-dimensional black holes.

Contribution

It introduces a novel gauge-based framework for understanding black hole thermodynamics, providing a microscopic explanation for entropy.

Findings

Correctly reproduces the entropy of (2+1)-dimensional black holes.

Attributes thermodynamic properties to horizon gauge degrees of freedom.

Offers a new perspective on black hole microstates.

Abstract

Although we know that black holes are characterized by a temperature and an entropy, we do not yet have a satisfactory microscopic ``statistical mechanical'' explanation for black hole thermodynamics. I describe a new approach that attributes the thermodynamic properties to ``would-be gauge'' degrees of freedom that become dynamical on the horizon. For the (2+1)-dimensional black hole, this approach gives the correct entropy. (Talk given at the Pacific Conference on Gravitation and Cosmology, Seoul, February 1996.)