An Introduction to Black Holes, Information and the String Theory Revolution The Holographic Universe

' Over the last decade the physics of black holes has been revolutionized by developments that grew out of Jacob Bekenstein's realization that black holes have entropy. Stephen Hawking raised profound issues concerning the loss of information in black hole evaporation and the consistency of quantum mechanics in a world with gravity. For two decades these questions puzzled theoretical physicists and eventually led to a revolution in the way we think about space, time, matter and information. This revolution has culminated in a remarkable principle called “The Holographic Principle”, which is now a major focus of attention in gravitational research, quantum field theory and elementary particle physics. Leonard Susskind, one of the co-inventors of the Holographic Principle as well as one of the founders of String theory, develops and explains these concepts. Contents:Black Holes and Quantum Mechanics:The Schwarzschild Black HoleScalar Wave Equation in a Schwarzschild BackgroundQuantum Fields in Rindler SpaceEntropy of the Free Quantum Field in Rindler SpaceThermodynamics of Black HolesCharged Black HolesThe Stretched HorizonThe Laws of NatureThe Puzzle of Information Conservation in Black Hole EnvironmentsHorizons and the UV/IR ConnectionEntropy Bounds and Holography:Entropy BoundsThe Holographic Principle and Anti de Sitter SpaceBlack Holes in a BoxBlack Holes and Strings:StringsEntropy of Strings and Black Holes Readership: Graduate students, researchers and theoretical physicists. Keywords:Black Hole;String Theory;Bekenstein;Hawking;Quantum Gravity;Holographic PrincipleKey Features:A unique exposition of the foundations of the quantum theory of black holes including the impact of string theory, the idea of black hole complementarity and the holographic principleAims to educate the physicist or student of physics who is not an expert on string theory, on the revolution that has grown out of black hole physics and string theoryReviews:“A remarkable feature of this book is that relatively little specialized knowledge is required from the reader; a cursory acquaintance with quantum mechanics and relativity is sufficient. This is impressive, given that the authors cover some of the hottest topics in current research … conceptually the book is truly challenging. It makes us think about many ideas we take for granted and shakes the foundations of our understanding of basic physics. It provides a rollercoaster ride into the treacherous and largely uncharted land of quantum gravity. This book is highly recommended for those interested in these fascinating topics.”CERN Courier “Students and non-specialists will welcome this book, which provides an entry into this fascinating realm at a level that can be enjoyed by an enterprising undergraduate … This well-planned, stimulating and sometimes provocative book can be enthusiastically recommended.”Classical and Quantum Gravity “The authors, both established researchers, present a review of black hole physics in one of the simplest and most efficient ways … The book will be useful for students of physics and for everyone interested in understanding ways in which knowledge is generated theoretically.”Mathematical Reviews '