High Energy Theory Seminar

The defining feature of a classical black hole is a horizon that causally hides a part of the universe that harbors a spacetime singularity.  In fact, multiple lines of evidence suggest that the interior of quantum black holes is not disconnected from the rest of the universe after all.   For example, in toy models of evaporating black holes, the information hidden behind the horizon can be recovered from the distant Hawking radiation.  Likewise, in holographic theories of gravity, the entire universe, both inside and outside the black hole, can be described by a single causally connected field theory.  In this talk, I will discuss results suggesting how these apparently contradictory features arise.  Using methods from complexity theory and quantum error correction, I will argue that: (a) dynamical quantum chaos in black hole formation transforms simple states into black hole microstates whose complexity increases with time, (b) at late times these states appear to be random to simple probes, and (c) probes that can resolve the microstates must, in a certain sense, be exponentially complex. 

In person attendees (469 Lauritsen) must have a valid Caltech ID.

Contact [email protected] for Zoom information.