2-D Midisuperspace Models for Quantum Black Holes

Abstract

Dimensionally reduced spherically symmetric gravity and its generalization, generic 2-D dilaton gravity, provide ideal theoretical laboratories for the study of black hole quantum mechanics and thermodynamics. They are sufficiently simple to be tractable but contain enough structure to allow the study of many deep issues in quantum gravity, such as the endpoint of Hawking radiation and the source of black hole entropy. This article reviews recent progress in a particular geometrical approach to the study of quantum black holes in generic 2-d dilaton gravity.