Where is the Information Stored in Black Holes?

TL;DR

This paper proposes that the information in extreme black holes is stored in modes inside the horizon associated with Ramond-Ramond charged sources, potentially explaining black hole entropy.

Contribution

It demonstrates that modes inside the horizon can account for black hole entropy and are linked to D-brane-like sources, offering a new perspective on information storage.

Findings

Modes inside the horizon account for Bekenstein-Hawking entropy

Sources carrying Ramond-Ramond charge generate these modes

Information extends between the singularity and the horizon

Abstract

It is shown that many modes of the gravitational field exist only inside the horizon of an extreme black hole in string theory. At least in certain cases, the number of such modes is sufficient to account for the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. These modes are associated with sources which carry Ramond-Ramond charge, and so may be viewed as the strong coupling limit of D-branes. Although these sources naturally live at the singularity, they are well defined and generate modes which extend out to the horizon. This suggests that the information in an extreme black hole is not localized near the singularity or the horizon, but extends between them.