String Theory Seminar

We study entanglement dynamics in toy models of black hole information built out of chaotic many-body quantum systems, by utilising a coarse-grained description of entanglement dynamics in such systems known as the `entanglement membrane'. We show that in these models the Page curve associated to the entropy of Hawking radiation arises from a transition in the entanglement membrane around the Page time, in an analogous manner to the change in quantum extremal surfaces that leads to the Page curve in semi-classical gravity. We also use the entanglement membrane prescription to study the Hayden-Preskill protocol, and demonstrate how information initially encoded in the black hole is rapidly transferred to the radiation around the Page time. Our results relate recent developments in black hole information to generic features of entanglement dynamics in chaotic many-body quantum systems. 

Black holes are fascinating astrophysical objects that are indirectly observed. From a theoretical point of view, black holes provide a fruitful laboratory to study the nature of gravity and its interplay with quantum mechanics. I will discuss recent developments surrounding the black hole information paradox and explain how these developments relate to understanding de Sitter spacetime.