How red is a quantum black hole?

Abstract

Radiating black holes pose a number of puzzles for semiclassical and quantum gravity. These include the transplanckian problem -- the nearly infinite energies of Hawking particles created near the horizon, and the final state of evaporation. A definitive resolution of these questions likely requires robust inputs from quantum gravity. We argue that one such input is a quantum bound on curvature. We show how this leads to an upper limit on the redshift of a Hawking emitted particle, to a maximum temperature for a black hole, and to the prediction of a Planck scale remnant.Comment: 3 pages, essay for the Gravity Research Foundatio