From black holes to emergent gravity

Abstract

Many inequivalent approaches to study black holes yield identical results. Any meaningful theory of gravity should explain the origin of this property. Here we show that the basic holomorphic modes characterising the underlying two dimensional conformal symmetry near the horizon bring about this universality. Moreover these modes lead to a law of equipartition of energy for black holes which suggests a statistical origin of gravity. This emergent nature of gravity is further bolstered by showing the equivalence of entropy with the action $\left(S=-\frac{i}{\hbar}\,I\right)$ and expressing the generalised Smarr formula for mass as a thermodynamic relation, $S=\frac{E}{2T}$ where $S$, $E$ and $T$ are the entropy, energy and temperature, respectively, of a black hole.Comment: Latex, 6 pages, Gravity Research Foundation essay 2010 (Received Honorable Mention