Propagation of Scalars in Non-extremal Black Hole and Black p-brane Geometries

TL;DR

This paper explores scalar wave propagation in various non-extremal black hole and p-brane geometries, revealing underlying SL(2,R) symmetry and connections to conformal field theories, suggesting broader applicability of known black hole properties.

Contribution

It demonstrates the presence of SL(2,R) symmetry in scalar wave equations across diverse black hole geometries and links absorption cross-sections to conformal field theory predictions.

Findings

Radial wave equation exhibits SL(2,R) symmetry near the horizon.

Absorption cross-sections align with conformal field theory expectations.

Properties of 4D and 5D black holes extend to more general cases.

Abstract

We discuss the propagation of scalars in a large class of non-extremal black hole and black p-brane geometries in generic dimensions. We show that the radial wave equation near the horizon possesses the SL(2,R) structure in every case; approximately it takes the form of the wave equation in the SL(2,R) (AdS_3) background and has a symmetry related to the T-duality of the string model in that geometry. We see a close connection to two and three dimensional black holes. We also find that, in some parameter region, the absorption cross-sections by the black objects take the form expected from a conformal field theory. Our results indicate that some of the properties known about a certain class of four and five dimensional black holes hold more generally.