Covariant Anomalies, Horizons and Hawking Radiation

Abstract

Hawking radiation is obtained from anomalies resulting from a breaking of diffeomorphism symmetry near the event horizon of a black hole. Such anomalies, manifested as a nonconservation of the energy momentum tensor, occur in two different forms -- covariant and consistent. The crucial role of covariant anomalies near the horizon is revealed since this is the {\it only} input required to obtain the Hawking flux, thereby highlighting the universality of this effect. A brief description to apply this method to obtain thermodynamic entities like entropy or temperature is provided.

5 pages; This essay was awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2008 Gravity Research Foundation essay competition