String duality and black holes

Abstract

In the context of (semi) classical general relativity, the physics of black holes poses many unanswered and unsettling questions. Notable among them are the loss of quantum coherence, which casts doubts on the basic foundations of quantum mechanics, and the understanding of the enormous entropy carried by black holes which is at odds with strong “no hair” theorems. We point out that in string theory, black-hole type solutions ( S-black holes) carry local discrete charges inherited from the duality symmetries of the string, which allow S-black holes to carry “quantum hair”. It is further noted that the conservation of the discrete charges and the presence of quantum hair precludes the information about a quantum state from being completely lost in the black hole thus rescuing quantum coherence. We also note that a large number of quantum hair carried by S-black holes may explain their enormous entropy, i.e. it is the duality symmetry of the string theory which redeems outstanding problems of black-hole dynamics. We also discuss a possible description of black holes as solitons of string theory.