Gauge-gravity duality and the black hole interior.

Area of Science:

• Theoretical Physics
• Quantum Gravity
• Black Hole Physics

Background:

• The firewall paradox in black hole physics questions the validity of the equivalence principle at the event horizon.
• Existing arguments often rely on entanglement between the black hole interior and external systems.
• The ER=EPR conjecture proposes a connection between entanglement and wormholes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel argument for the existence of firewalls at the event horizon of black holes with field theory duals.
• To demonstrate that this argument is independent of entanglement with distant systems.
• To analyze the ER=EPR conjecture, specifically concerning the geometric interpretation of highly entangled states.

Main Methods:

• Development of a new theoretical argument for black hole firewalls.
• Analysis of entanglement properties in quantum field theory and black hole thermodynamics.
• Investigation of the geometric interpretation of quantum correlations in the context of the ER=EPR conjecture.

Main Results:

• A new argument supports the presence of firewalls at black hole horizons, irrespective of external entanglement.
• This firewall argument is not circumvented by identifying internal and external degrees of freedom.
• Correlations in generic highly entangled states cannot be geometrically represented as smooth wormholes.

Conclusions:

• The firewall paradox persists even when considering internal black hole degrees of freedom.
• The ER=EPR conjecture, in its simplest geometric interpretation, may not fully capture the nature of quantum correlations in highly entangled states.
• Further theoretical developments are needed to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity in the context of black holes.