The black hole eikonal phase of quantum gravity 

Speaker: 
Nava Gaddam
Institution: 
Institute for Theoretical Physics, Utrecht University, Netherlands
Date: 
Wednesday, January 6, 2021
Time: 
11:00 am
Location: 
Zoom Seminar
Abstract: 
In this talk, I will show that there is a remarkable new phase of quantum gravity where gravitational collision energies near the horizon satisfy E << \gamma M_Pl, where \gamma = M_Pl/M_BH. In this phase, scattering amplitudes are unitary suggesting a resolution of the 
information paradox; we derive the four-point amplitude explicitly. Owing to the low energies of collisions, there are no firewalls experienced by infalling observers. A consequence of our results is that the information paradox is an emergent one at low energies and does not 
require detailed ultra-violet physics for a resolution. This near horizon physics can be glued to the physics associated with the classical Regge-Wheeler potential further away from the horizon. The resulting scattering matrix is still unitary, and I will argue that quantum chaotic properties expected of black holes are encoded in the Bogoliubov coefficients relating in and outgoing modes in the scattering process. 
 
Host: 
Michael Ratz