Hawking Radiation and Back-Reaction in a Unitary Theory of 2D Quantum Gravity

TL;DR

This paper studies quantum effects and back-reaction in a 2D quantum gravity model, showing how Hawking radiation causes black hole mass loss and exploring quantum corrections that suggest complete evaporation.

Contribution

Introduces a new method for calculating back-reaction effects in a unitary 2D quantum gravity model, analyzing quantum corrections to black hole evaporation.

Findings

Hawking radiation leads to black hole mass decrease

Quantum corrections estimated up to second order

Black hole likely fully evaporates, leaving flat space

Abstract

We investigate the semiclassical limit and quantum corrections to the metric in a unitary quantum gravity formulation of the CGHS 2d dilaton gravity model. A new method for calculating the back-reaction effects has been introduced, as an expansion of the effective metric in powers of the matter energy-momentum tensor. In the semiclassical limit the quantum corrections can be neglected, and we show that physical states exists which contain the Hawking radiation. The first order back-reaction effect is entirely due to the Hawking radiation. It causes the black-hole mass to monotonically decrease, and it makes it unbounded from bellow as the horizon is approched. The second order quantum corrections have been estimated. Since the matter is propagating freely in this unitary theory, we expect that the higher order corrections will stabilize the mass, and the black hole will completely evaporate leaving a nearly flat space.