1996/06/30 by S. Carlip, Steven Carlip · 4 citations
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Classical mechanics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Euclidean geometry #Geology #Geometry #Mathematics #Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories #Physics #Statistical mechanics #Statistical physics #Theoretical physics #gr-qc #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.55.878
published as Phys.Rev.D55:878-882,1997 · 9 pages, LaTeX. Significant sign error corrected, continuation to Lorentzian signature clarified, several other clarifications (although conclusion is unaffected). To appear in Phys. Rev. D
arxiv created 1996/10/08 · openalex publication_date 1997/01/15 · arxiv updated 2010/04/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
In its formulation as a Chern-Simons theory, three-dimensional general relativity induces a Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) action on spatial boundaries. Treating the horizon of the three-dimensional Euclidean black hole as a boundary, I count the states of the resulting WZW model, and show that when analytically continued back to Lorentzian signature, they yield the correct Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. The relevant states can be understood as ``would-be gauge'' degrees of freedom that become dynamical at the horizon.