The Endpoint of Hawking Evaporation

TL;DR

This paper investigates the semi-classical evaporation process of two-dimensional black holes, revealing how horizons form, recede, and lead to naked singularities, with implications for information recovery.

Contribution

It provides an exactly solvable model of black hole evaporation, detailing the conditions for horizon formation, singularity emergence, and boundary conditions for information recovery.

Findings

Horizon forms above a threshold energy flux

Apparent horizon recedes and meets the singularity in finite time

Information is recovered at spatial infinity when no horizon forms

Abstract

The formation and semi-classical evaporation of two-dimensional black holes is studied in an exactly solvable model. Above a certain threshold energy flux, collapsing matter forms a singularity inside an apparent horizon. As the black hole evaporates the apparent horizon recedes and meets the singularity in a finite proper time. The singularity emerges naked and future evolution of the geometry requires boundary conditions to be imposed there. There is a natural choice of boundary conditions which match the evaporated black hole solution onto the linear dilaton vacuum. Below the threshold energy flux no horizon forms and boundary conditions can be imposed where infalling matter is reflected from a time-like naked singularity. All information is recovered at spatial infinity in this case.