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Black-Hole Entropy as Causal Links

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Abstract

We model a black hole spacetime as a causal set and count, with a certain definition, the number of causal links crossing the horizon in proximity to a spacelike or null hypersurface Σ. We find that this number is proportional to the horizon's area on Σ, thus supporting the interpretation of the links as the “horizon atoms” that account for its entropy. The cases studied include not only equilibrium black holes but ones far from equilibrium.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Exact Science and Technology, University Center of Eloued, Eloued, Algeria

    Djamel Dou

  2. Department of Physics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, 13244-1130

    Rafael D. Sorkin

Authors
  1. Djamel Dou
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  2. Rafael D. Sorkin
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Dou, D., Sorkin, R.D. Black-Hole Entropy as Causal Links. Foundations of Physics 33, 279–296 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023781022519

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023781022519

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