Quantum Information and Quantum Black Holes

Abstract

First, the relation between black holes and limitations on information of other systems is developed. After reviewing the relation of entropy to information, we derive the entropy bound, review its applications to cosmology and its extensions to higher dimensions, and discuss why black holes behave as 1-D objects when emitting entropy. We also discuss fundamental limitations on the information of pulses in curved space, and on the rate of disposal of information into a black hole. We then move on to a discussion of quantum black holes motivated by the adiabatic invariance of horizon area of classical holes. We develop an algebraic formalism based on symmetry which gives information on the area (or mass) spectrum of quantum black holes, and on the degeneracy of the levels. This last turns out to be consistent with the horizon area-black hole entropy proportionality while leaving room for corrections.