Black Hole Entropy from Conformal Field Theory in Any Dimension
- 5 April 1999
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 82 (14) , 2828-2831
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.82.2828
Abstract
Restricted to a black hole horizon, the “gauge” algebra of surface deformations in general relativity contains a Virasoro subalgebra with a calculable central charge. The fields in any quantum theory of gravity must transform accordingly, i.e., they must admit a conformal field theory description. Applying Cardy's formula for the asymptotic density of states, I use this result to derive the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. This method is universal—it holds for any black hole, and requires no details of quantum gravity—but it is also explicitly statistical mechanical, based on counting microscopic states.All Related Versions
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