Measuring the $W$-hair of String Black Holes

TL;DR

This paper explores methods to measure the infinite gauge symmetries ($W$-hair) of string black holes, using scattering and interference experiments to distinguish black hole states and preserve quantum coherence.

Contribution

It proposes practical measurement techniques for $W$-hair in string black holes, linking gauge symmetries to observable quantum effects.

Findings

W-hair can be measured via s-wave scattering of light

Interference experiments can detect $W$-hair signatures

Measurement methods preserve quantum coherence in black holes

Abstract

We have argued previously that the infinitely many gauge symmetries of string theory provide an infinite set of conserved (gauge) quantum numbers ($W$-hair) which characterise black hole states and maintain quantum coherence. Here we study ways of measuring the $W$-hair of spherically-symmetric four-dimensional objects with event horizons, treated as effectively two-dimensional string black holes. Measurements can be done either through the s-wave scattering of light particles off the string black-hole background, or through interference experiments of Aharonov-Bohm type. In the first type of measurement, selection rules