Black Holes In String Theory Research Articles

Accretion disks around magnetically charged black holes in string theory with an Euler-Heisenberg correction

Accretion disks around magnetically charged black holes in string theory with an Euler-Heisenberg correction

Study of Coupling Constants of Gravitational Waves Using String Theory

In this paper, we study the coupling constants of quantized gravitational waves during its scattering and absorption by the black hole in string theory. In string theory, the quantized gravitational waves are closed strings of Planck size which are usually graviton particles in quantum gravity having spin 2. The coupling constants calculated in this paper in terms of winding number of the closed string have been found to form a particular sequence and have shown that they are cyclic vectors. We have calculated various sequences of the coupling constants of gravitational waves which come under the area of metric spaces. We have used the concepts of both T-duality and S-duality in order to explain both scattering and absorption of gravitational waves by the black hole.

Building the blocks of Schwarzschild

We demonstrate that the Schwarzschild black hole can be “resolved” into bound states of Reissner-Nordström black holes in four dimensions. These bound states closely resemble the Schwarzschild geometry from the asymptotic region up to an infinitesimal distance away from the Schwarzschild horizon. Below this scale, the horizon is replaced by novel spacetime structures supported by intense and entrapped electromagnetic flux. The flux originates from collinear black holes that can be brought arbitrarily close to extremality. We find that the charge distribution follows a universal pattern, with magnitudes scaling proportionally to the total mass and alternating in sign. Moreover, the bound states always have an entropy that constitutes a fraction of the Schwarzschild entropy. Constructed in four dimensions, the black holes are kept apart by struts, for which we analyze tensions and energies. These solutions pave the way for analogous constructions in supergravity and for a brane/anti-brane description of the Schwarzschild black hole in string theory.

On small black holes in string theory

We discuss the worldsheet sigma-model whose target space is the d+1 dimensional Euclidean Schwarzschild black hole. We argue that in the limit where the Hawking temperature of the black hole, T, approaches the Hagedorn temperature, TH, it can be described in terms of a generalized version of the Horowitz-Polchinski effective theory. For d ≥ 6, where the Horowitz-Polchinski EFT [1, 2] does not have suitable solutions, the modified effective Lagrangian allows one to study the black hole CFT in an expansion in powers of d − 6 and TH − T. At T = TH, the sigma model is non-trivial for all d > 6. It exhibits an enhanced SU(2) symmetry, and is described by a non-abelian Thirring model with a radially dependent coupling. The resulting picture connects naturally to the results of [3–5], that relate Schwarzschild black holes in flat spacetime at large d to the two dimensional black hole. We also discuss an analogous open string system, in which the black hole is replaced by a system of two separated D-branes connected by a throat. In this system, the asymptotic separation of the branes plays the role of the inverse temperature. At the critical separation, the system is described by a Kondo-type model, which again exhibits an enhanced SU(2) symmetry. At large d, the brane system gives rise to the hairpin brane [6].

α′ corrections to 4-dimensional non-extremal stringy black holes

We compute the first-order α′ corrections to a family of 4-dimensional, 4-charge, non-extremal black hole solutions of Heterotic Supergravity in the case with 3 independent charges. The solutions are fully analytic, reproduce the extremal limit previously found in the literature and, applying T-duality, they transform as expected. If we reduce to the case with a single independent charge we obtain the corrections to four embeddings of the Reissner-Nordström black hole in string theory. We completely characterize the black hole thermodynamics computing the Hawking temperature, Wald entropy, mass, gauge charges and their dual thermodynamic potentials. We verify that all these quantities are related by the first law of extended black hole mechanics and the Smarr formula once we include a potential associated to the dimensionful parameter α′ and the scalar charges. We found that the latter are not identified with the poles at infinity of the scalar fields because they receive α′ corrections.

Logarithmic correction to black hole entropy in universal low-energy string theory models

We calculate the logarithmic correction to the entropy of asymptotically flat and AdS black holes (rotating, non-rotating, charged, and uncharged) embedded in Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton (EMD) theories with U(1)-charged. The leading quantum gravitational corrections are achieved in both extremal and non-extremal limits of black hole temperature by designing a common Euclidean gravity setup that evaluates the “logarithmic term” from one-loop effective actions via heat kernel method-based calculations. EMD theories are universal building blocks of compactified string theory or supergravity models in 4D. For a concrete example, we generalize the entire setup and calculate logarithmic corrections for black holes in U(1)2-charged EMD models intersecting with mathcal{N} = 4 ungauged and gauged bosonic supergravity. In contrast to flat backgrounds, all the AdS4 results are found to be non-topological, providing a wider “infrared window” into the microscopic degrees of freedom of black holes in string theory.

Microstates of a 2d Black Hole in string theory

We analyse models of Matrix Quantum Mechanics in the double scaling limit that contain non-singlet states. The finite temperature partition function of such systems contains non-trivial winding modes (vortices) and is expressed in terms of a group theoretic sum over representations. We then focus in the case when the first winding mode is dominant (model of Kazakov-Kostov-Kutasov). In the limit of large representations (continuous Young diagrams), and depending on the values of the parameters of the model such as the compactification radius and the string coupling, the dual geometric background corresponds to that of a long string (winding mode) condensate or a 2d (non-supersymmetric) Black Hole. In the matrix model we can tune these parameters and explore various phases and regimes. Our construction allows us to identify the origin of the microstates of these backgrounds, arising from non trivial representations, and paves the way for computing various observables on them.

Infinite black hole entropies at infinite distances and tower of states

The aim of this paper is to elucidate a close connection between the black hole area law and the infinite distance conjecture in the context of the swampland. We consider families of black hole geometries, parametrized by their event horizon areas or by the values of their entropies, and show that the infinite entropy limit is always at infinite distance in the space of black hole geometries. It then follows from the infinite distance conjecture that there must be a tower of states in the infinite entropy limit, and that ignoring these towers on the horizon of the black hole would invalidate the effective theory when the entropy becomes large. We call this the black hole entropy distance conjecture. We then study two candidates for the tower of states. The first are the Kaluza-Klein modes of the internal geometry of extremal N=2 black holes in string theory, whose masses on the horizon are fixed by the N=2 attractor formalism, and given in terms of the black hole charges similarly to the entropy. However, we observe that it is possible to decouple their masses from the entropy, so that they cannot generically play the role of the tower. We thus consider a second kind of states: inspired by N-portrait quantum models of non-extremal black holes, we argue that the Goldstone-like modes that interpolate among the black hole microstates behave like the expected light tower of states.

Black holes in string theory with duality twists

We consider 5D supersymmetric black holes in string theory compactifications that partially break supersymmetry. We compactify type IIB on T4 and then further compactify on a circle with a duality twist to give Minkowski vacua preserving partial supersymmetry ( mathcal{N} = 6, 4, 2, 0) in five dimensions. The effective supergravity theory is given by a Scherk-Schwarz reduction with a Scherk-Schwarz supergravity potential on the moduli space, and the lift of this to string theory imposes a quantization condition on the mass parameters. In this theory, we study black holes with three charges that descend from various ten-dimensional brane configurations. For each black hole we choose the duality twist to be a transformation that preserves the solution, so that it remains a supersymmetric solution of the twisted theory with partially broken supersymmetry. We discuss the quantum corrections arising from the twist to the pure gauge and mixed gauge-gravitational Chern-Simons terms in the action and the resulting corrections to the black hole entropy.

Stringy information and black holes

We show that in string theory, due to non-perturbative effects, there are cases in which two states that semi-classically are completely different, are in fact the same. One state cannot be excited without exciting the other; they are two components of the same state in the exact theory. As a result, in some situations that include black holes, the nature of information in string theory is dramatically different than in field theory. In particular, each general-relativity state, that lives in the atmosphere of black fivebranes, is accompanied with an excitation that lives on folded strings, which fill the black-hole interior. This is likely related to the way that information is extracted from black holes in string theory, and we refer to it as stringy information.

Superstrata

We give a survey of the present status of the microstate geometries called superstrata. Superstrata are smooth, horizonless solutions of six-dimensional supergravity that represent some of the microstates of the D1–D5–P black hole in string theory. They are the most general microstate geometries of that sort whose CFT dual states are identified. After reviewing relevant features of the dual CFT, we discuss the construction of superstratum solutions in supergravity, based on the linear structure of the BPS equations. We also review some of recent work on generalizations of superstrata and physical properties of superstrata. Although the number of superstrata constructed so far is not enough to account for the black-hole entropy, they give us valuable insights into the microscopic physics of black holes.

The small black hole illusion

Small black holes in string theory are characterized by a classically singular horizon with vanishing Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. It has been argued that higher- curvature corrections resolve the horizon and that the associated Wald entropy is in agreement with the microscopic degeneracy. In this note we study the heterotic two-charge small black hole and question this result, which we claim is caused by a misidentification of the fundamental constituents of the system studied when higher-curvature interactions are present. On the one hand, we show that quadratic curvature corrections do not solve the singular horizon of small black holes. On the other, we argue that the resolution of the heterotic small black hole reported in the literature involves the introduction of solitonic 5-branes, whose asymptotic charge vanishes due to a screening effect induced by the higher- curvature interactions, and a Kaluza-Klein monopole, whose charge remains unscreened.

String analog of Reissner–Nordström black holes cannot be overcharged

In this work, we attempt to overcharge extremal and nearly extremal charged black holes in string theory, known as the Garfinkle–Horowitz–Strominger solution. We first show that extremal black holes cannot be overcharged analogous to the case of Reissner–Nordström (RN) black holes. Contrary to their analog in general relativity, nearly extremal black holes can neither be overcharged beyond extremality, nor can they be driven to extremality by the interaction with test particles. Therefore, the analysis in this work also implies that the third law of black hole thermodynamics holds for the relevant charged black holes in string theory perturbed by test particles. This can be interpreted as a stronger version of the third law since one can drop out the continuity proviso for the relevant process.

Dilaton black hole entropy from entropy function formalism

It has been shown that the entropy function formalism is an efficient way to calculate the entropy of black holes in string theory. We check this formalism for the extremal charged dilaton black hole. We find the general four-derivative correction on the black hole entropy from the value of the entropy function at its extremum point.

Black holes and class groups

The theory of quadratic forms and class numbers has connections to many classical problems in number theory. Recently, class numbers have appeared in the study of black holes in string theory. We describe this connection and raise questions in the hope of inspiring new collaborations between number theorists and physicists.

Non-Abelian black holes in string theory

We study a family of 5-dimensional non-Abelian black holes that can be obtained by adding an instanton field to the well-known D1D5W Abelian black holes. Naively, the non-Abelian fields seem to contribute to the black-hole entropy but not to the mass due to their rapid fall-off at spatial infinity. By uplifting the 5-dimensional supergravity solution to 10-dimensional Heterotic Supergravity first and then dualizing it into a Type-I Supergravity solution, we show that the non-Abelian fields are associated to D5-branes dissolved into the D9-branes (dual to the Heterotic "gauge 5-branes") and that their associated RR charge does not, in fact, contribute to the entropy, which only depends on the number of D-strings and D5 branes and the momentum along the D-strings, as in the Abelian case. These "dissolved" or "gauge" D5-branes do contribute to the mass in the expected form. The correct interpretation of the 5-dimensional charges in terms of the string-theory objects solves the non-Abelian hair puzzle, allowing for the microscopic accounting of the entropy. We discuss the validity of the solution when α′ corrections are taken into account.

Absorption of scalars by extremal black holes in string theory

We show that the low frequency absorption cross section of minimally coupled test massless scalar fields by extremal spherically symmetric black holes in d dimensions is equal to the horizon area, even in the presence of string--theoretical $\alpha'$ corrections. Classically one has the relation $\sigma = 4 G S$ between that absorption cross section and the black hole entropy. By comparing in each case the values of the horizon area and Wald's entropy, we discuss the validity of such relation in the presence of higher derivative corrections for extremal black holes in many different contexts: in the presence of electric and magnetic charges, for nonsupersymmetric and supersymmetric black holes, in d=4 and d=5 dimensions. The examples we consider seem to indicate that this relation is not verified in the presence of $\alpha'$ corrections in general, although being valid in some specific cases (electrically charged maximally supersymmetric black holes in d=5). We argue that the relation $\sigma = 4 G S$ should in general be valid for the absorption cross section of scalar fields which, although being independent from the black hole solution, have their origin from string theory, and therefore are not minimally coupled.

Highly excited strings I: Generating function

This is the first of a series of detailed papers on string amplitudes with highly excited strings (HES). In the present paper we construct a generating function for string amplitudes with generic HES vertex operators using a fixed-loop momentum formalism. We generalise the proof of the chiral splitting theorem of D'Hoker and Phong to string amplitudes with arbitrary HES vertex operators (with generic KK and winding charges, polarisation tensors and oscillators) in general toroidal compactifications E=RD−1,1×TDcr−D (with generic constant Kähler and complex structure target space moduli, background Kaluza–Klein (KK) gauge fields and torsion). We adopt a novel approach that does not rely on a “reverse engineering” method to make explicit the loop momenta, thus avoiding a certain ambiguity pointed out in a recent paper by Sen, while also keeping the genus of the worldsheet generic. This approach will also be useful in discussions of quantum gravity and in particular in relation to black holes in string theory, non-locality and breakdown of local effective field theory, as well as in discussions of cosmic superstrings and their phenomenological relevance. We also discuss the manifestation of wave/particle (or rather wave/string) duality in string theory.

Stationary charged scalar clouds around black holes in string theory

It was reported that Kerr-Newman black holes can support linear charged scalar fields in their exterior regions. These stationary massive charged scalar fields can form bound states, which are called stationary scalar clouds. In this paper, we show that Kerr-Sen black holes can also support stationary massive charged scalar clouds by matching the near- and far-region solutions of the radial part of the Klein-Gordon wave equation. We also review stationary scalar clouds within the background of static electrically charged black hole solutions in the low-energy limit of heterotic string field theory, namely, the Gibbons-Maeda-Garfinkle-Horowitz-Strominger black holes.

Destroying Kerr-Sen black holes

By neglecting the self-force, self-energy, and radiative effects, it has been shown that an extremal or near-extremal Kerr-Newman black hole can turn into a naked singularity when it captures charged and spinning massive particles. A straightforward question then arises: do charged and rotating black holes in string theory possess the same property? In this paper we apply the Wald's gedanken experiment, in his study on the possibility of destroying extremal Kerr-Newman black holes, to the case of (near-)extremal Kerr-Sen black holes. We find that feeding a test particle into a (near-)extremal Kerr-Sen black hole could lead to a violation of the extremal bound for the black hole.