Speaker: Dr. L. A. Pando Zayas (University of Michigan)

Abstract:

The anti-de Sitter/Conformal Field Theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence states that for a certain quantum system with gravity there is an equivalent field theory system without gravity.  I will review some recent developments within the AdS/CFT correspondence where the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of certain black holes has been given a microscopic, statistical mechanical foundation in terms of partition functions of the dual field theories. At the quantum level, the entropy of black holes is not exactly equal to one quarter of the area of the event horizon; it receives tiny quantum corrections proportional to the logarithm of the area. I will describe how these logarithmic corrections to the black hole entropy can be computed and how to match them successfully to a microscopic description based on the AdS/CFT correspondence.