De Haro, Sebastian and van Dongen, Jeroen and Visser, Manus and Butterfield, Jeremy (2020) Conceptual Analysis of Black Hole Entropy in String Theory. Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 69. pp. 82-111. ISSN 1355-2198

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Abstract

The microscopic state counting of the extremal Reissner-Nordström black hole performed by Andrew Strominger and Cumrun Vafa in 1996 has proven to be a central result in string theory. Here, with a philosophical readership in mind, the argument is presented in its contemporary context and its rather complex conceptual structure is analysed. In particular, we will identify the various inter-theoretic relations, such as duality and linkage relations, on which it depends. We further aim to make clear why the argument was immediately recognised as a successful accounting for the entropy of this black hole and how it engendered subsequent work that intended to strengthen the string theoretic analysis of black holes. Its relation to the formulation of the AdS/CFT conjecture will be briefly discussed, and the familiar reinterpretation of the entropy calculation in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence is given. Finally, we discuss the heuristic role that Strominger and Vafa's microscopic account of black hole entropy played for the black hole information paradox. A companion paper analyses the ontology of the Strominger-Vafa black hole states, the question of emergence of the black hole from a collection of D-branes, and the role of the correspondence principle in the context of string theory black holes.

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Item Type:	Published Article or Volume
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID De Haro, Sebastian sd696@cam.ac.uk 0000-0002-3000-5967 van Dongen, Jeroen j.a.e.f.vandongen@uva.nl Visser, Manus M.R.Visser@uva.nl Butterfield, Jeremy jb56@cam.ac.uk
Keywords:	black hole entropy; string theory; D-branes; AdS/CFT; emergence; correspondence
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Gravity Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Field Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Depositing User:	Dr Sebastian De Haro
Date Deposited:	08 Mar 2020 20:26
Last Modified:	08 Mar 2020 20:26
Item ID:	16983
Journal or Publication Title:	Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics
Publisher:	Elsevier
Official URL:	https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/...
DOI or Unique Handle:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsb.2019.11.001
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Gravity Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Field Theory Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
Date:	1 February 2020
Page Range:	pp. 82-111
Volume:	69
ISSN:	1355-2198
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/16983

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