Harita Palani Balaji Qualifying Exam

Abstract: In this talk, I will present brickwall models as effective descriptions of black holes that capture desired features associated with their quantum nature. Specifically, the spectrum of a probe scalar field quantized in these backgrounds displays non-trivial level correlations necessary to establish quantum chaos. This can be associated with a hierarchy in the quantum numbers of the probe scalar, which can in turn be traced to a natural hierarchy between two time-scales associated with the gravitational red-shift in the near-horizon region. The universal Rindler geometry of the near-horizon region of non-extremal black holes can be utilized to gain analytic control over these time scales in a wide range of geometries. I will also present a dressed effective model where the brickwall is inserted in a ten-dimensional supergravity geometry, where classical string sources back-react, and address how this affects the hierarchy mentioned above.