Quantum Chaos and Unitary Black Hole Evaporation

Abstract: The formation and evaporation of small AdS black holes in a theory with a holographic dual is governed by the usual rules of quantum mechanics. The eigenstate thermalization hypothesis explains the validity of semiclassical gravity for local bulk observables and can be used to quantify the magnitude of quantum corrections to the semiclassical approximation. The holographic dual produces a basis of black hole states with finite energy width, and observables that are smooth functions on the classical phase space will self-average over a large number of energy eigenstates, exponential in the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy S, leading to results that are consistent with semiclassical gravity up to small corrections of order exp(-S/2). As expected, the semiclassical description breaks down for transition amplitudes that contribute to the unitary S matrix of the holographic theory.