Replica wormholes and the entropy of Hawking radiation

← Back to papers

Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Nuclear and High Energy Physics

★

☆

SHARE

Overview

Paper Summary

Conflicts of Interest

Identified Weaknesses

Rating Explanation

Good to know

Topic Hierarchy

File Information

Paper Summary

Paperzilla title

Wormholes: Not Just for Sci-Fi Anymore! Fixing Hawking's Entropy Paradox

This paper demonstrates how non-perturbative effects from "replica wormholes" can resolve the late-time entropy discrepancy for Hawking radiation, leading to a unitary Page curve. By including these new saddle points in the gravitational path integral, the island rule for computing entropy emerges naturally, suggesting a new way to understand how information escapes black holes.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

None identified

Identified Weaknesses

Semiclassical approximation

The reliance on the semiclassical approximation, while useful in certain regimes, inherently limits the scope of the study. It does not capture the full quantum nature of gravity and may not accurately represent the dynamics of strongly fluctuating geometries.

Large central charge assumption

While large central charge simplifies calculations, it represents a specific corner of the theory. The results might not generalize to more realistic scenarios with smaller central charges.

Lack of complete microscopic picture

The paper primarily focuses on the von Neumann entropy and doesn't provide a complete microscopic description of the information paradox, particularly regarding the S-matrix for infalling matter escaping into radiation.

2D model

The explicit calculations are limited to 2D JT gravity coupled to a CFT, which, while offering valuable insights, might not capture the full complexity of higher-dimensional black holes.

Rating Explanation

This paper presents a significant advancement in addressing the black hole information paradox by incorporating replica wormholes in the gravitational path integral. The explicit calculations in 2D JT gravity and the derivation of the island rule offer valuable insights. However, limitations such as the semiclassical approximation, large central charge assumption, and the lack of a full microscopic picture prevent a perfect score.

Good to know

This is our free standard analysis. Paperzilla Pro fact-checks every citation, researches author backgrounds and funding sources, and uses advanced AI reasoning for more thorough insights.

Explore Pro →

Topic Hierarchy

Domain:

Physical Sciences

Field:

Physics and Astronomy

Subfield:

Nuclear and High Energy Physics

File Information

Original Title:

Replica wormholes and the entropy of Hawking radiation

File Name: