String theory and black holes
Abstract
An exact conformal field theory describing a black hole in two-dimensional space-time is found as an SL(2,openR)/U(1) gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten model. For k=9/4, the conformal field theory can be regarded as a classical solution of the same system that is probed in the c=1 matrix model. The conformal field theory governing the space-time is regular at the Riemannian singularity, but it appears that generic perturbations blow up there. It is argued that the end point of the Hawking black-hole evaporation is the standard space-time of the c=1 matrix model, which should be regarded as an analog of the extreme Reissner-Nordstr\"om black hole of four-dimensional general relativity. The c=1 model is thus a model of the quantum mechanics of matter interacting with a black hole.
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For M > 0, the two-dimensional cigar solution has a curvature singularity at vu = 1 and a bifurcate event horizon at vu = 0.
“with a curvature singularity at vu = 1 and a bifurcate event horizon at vu = 0 .”
From Page curve for an evaporating black hole (2020) · cites this paper as [29]
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- Authors
- Witten, E.
- Affiliations
- Institute for Advanced Study (US)
- Corresponding author
- Witten, Edward
- ORCID
- Witten, Edward
- Venue
- Physical Review D
- Publisher
- American Physical Society (APS)
- Published
- 1991-07-15
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 314-324
- ISSN
- 0556-2821 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2130517342
- Cited by
- 1,273
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 53 · 2024: 33 · 2023: 40 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 52 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 41 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 29 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 78.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Physical review. D. Particles, fields, gravitation, and cosmology/Physical review. D. Particles and fields (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Nuclear and High Energy Physics › Black Holes and Theoretical Physics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Statistical and Nonlinear Physics › Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Geometry and Topology › Algebraic structures and combinatorial models
- Keywords
- black holes, two-dimensional black holes, conformal field theory, gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten model, c=1 matrix model, Hawking evaporation, extreme Reissner-Nordström black hole, black hole quantum mechanics, string theory
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