1999/06/30 by S. Carlip, Steven Carlip · 6 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Algebra over a field #Algebra representation #Anti-de Sitter space #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Black hole thermodynamics #Boundary conformal field theory #Boundary value problem #Central charge #Conformal anomaly #Conformal field theory #Conformal map #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Covariant transformation #De Sitter space #De Sitter universe #Entropy (arrow of time) #Geometry #Mathematical physics #Mixed boundary condition #Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories #Physics #Pure mathematics #Quantum #Quantum gravity #Quantum mechanics #Robin boundary condition #Universe #Virasoro algebra #de Sitter–Schwarzschild metric #gr-qc #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0264-9381/16/10/322
published as Class.Quant.Grav.16:3327-3348,1999 · 26 pages, LaTeX; corrected typo and minor changes in Misner string section
arxiv created 1999/08/09 · openalex publication_date 1999/09/20 · arxiv updated 2010/04/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
On a manifold with a boundary, the constraint algebra of general relativity may acquire a central extension, which can be computed using covariant phase space techniques. When the boundary is a (local) Killing horizon, a natural set of boundary conditions leads to a Virasoro subalgebra with a calculable central charge. Conformal field theory methods may then be used to determine the density of states at the boundary. I consider a number of cases - black holes, Rindler space, de Sitter space, Taub-NUT and Taub-bolt spaces and dilaton gravity - and show that the resulting density of states yields the expected Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. The statistical mechanics of black hole entropy may thus be fixed by symmetry arguments, independent of the details of quantum gravity.