A new research program in theoretical gravitational physics will be undertaken by Prof. Anderson. He will address three important issues relating to the study of black holes. These are the questions: What is the end point of the black hole evaporation process? What happens to the information about how a black hole formed? How do quantum fields alter the thermodynamic properties of a black hole? The investigations will center around the ways in which quantum fields alter the spacetime geometry both inside and outside of a black hole. These alterations affect the thermodynamic properties of the black hole. They also have a strong influence on what is left after the black hole finishes evaporating. What happens to the information about how a black hole formed may depend on both the spacetime geometry inside its event horizon and what is left after the black hole finishes evaporating. Another proposed investigation is the development of a practical way to make computations in quantum field theory when the mode equation for free quantized fields is not completely separable. The results should significantly enhance our ability to study the details of processes such as black hole evaporation, the decay of a strong electric field due to particle production, and particle production due to heavy ion collisions in nuclear physics.
