Black Holes, Entanglement and Decoherence
Abstract
Abstract It was recently shown that a black hole — or any Killing horizon — will decohere any quantum superposition in its vicinity. I review three distinct but related arguments that illustrate how this phenomenon arises: (1) entanglement with “degrees of freedom” in the interior (2) the absorption by the black hole of soft, entangling radiation emitted by the superposition and (3) interactions with the quantum, fluctuating multipole moments of a black hole arising from ultra low frequency Hawking quanta. The relationship between “soft hair” and interactions with “internal degrees of freedom” is emphasized and some implications for the nature of horizons in a quantum theory of gravity are discussed.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect
Black Holes and Theoretical Physics
Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Physics Conference Series
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing
- Volume
- 3177
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 012002–012002
- Publication date
- 1 February 2026