Statistical Hair on Black Holes

TL;DR

This paper discusses how statistical quantum hair, arising from discrete gauge symmetries in string theory, enables the measurement of black hole microstates even behind the event horizon, linking weak and strong coupling regimes.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of statistical quantum hair from discrete gauge symmetries as a means to access black hole microstates across coupling regimes.

Findings

Black hole microstates can be measured via interference experiments.

Quantum hair encodes information behind the event horizon.

Discrete gauge symmetries contribute to black hole microstate structure.

Abstract

The Bekenstein-Hawking entropy for certain BPS-saturated black holes in string theory has recently been derived by counting internal black hole microstates at weak coupling. We argue that the black hole microstate can be measured by interference experiments even in the strong coupling region where there is clearly an event horizon. Extracting information which is naively behind the event horizon is possible due to the existence of statistical quantum hair carried by the black hole. This quantum hair arises from the arbitrarily large number of discrete gauge symmetries present in string theory.