Black holes vs. firewalls and thermo-field dynamics

Abstract

In this essay, we examine the implications of the ongoing black holes vs. firewalls debate for the thermo-field dynamics of black holes by analyzing a CFT in a thermal state in the context of AdS/CFT. We argue that the themo-field doubled copy of the thermal CFT should be thought of not as a fictitious system, but as the image of the CFT in the heat-bath. While this idea was proposed earlier by Papadodimas et al., our following conclusions differ from theirs. In case of strong coupling between the CFT and the heat-bath this image allows for free infall through the horizon and the system is described by a black hole. Conversely, firewalls are the appropriate dual description in case of weak interaction of the CFT with its heat bath.

7 Pages, 4 figures. This essay received an honorable mention in the 2013 essay competition of the Gravity Research Foundation. v2: References added

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• Smooth Causal Patches for AdS Black Holes
• Thermofield dynamics and Gravity
• Interactions resolve state-dependence in a toy-model of AdS black holes
• Wormholes, geons, and the illusion of the tensor product
• Reduced Density Matrices and Phase-Space Distributions in Thermofield Dynamics