Insights from Quantum Foundations into Black Holes

Prof. Renato Renner

Quantum Information Theory Group at ITP, ETH Zurich

Abstract

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This talk is a collaboration between Theory Talks and Quantum Paper Club!

Black holes offer a testing ground for the interplay between General Relativity and quantum theory, exemplified by phenomena such as Hawking radiation. Yet, this interplay gives rise to deep puzzles, notably the “firewall paradox”, in which the combined predictions of an infalling observer and an outside observer lead to a contradiction.

In this talk, I will argue that recent advances in quantum foundations suggest an unexpected resolution: the paradox may not be due to a conflict between General Relativity and quantum theory, but rather highlight limitations in quantum theory’s ability to consistently describe scenarios involving multiple observers with differing perspectives.

References

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• https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.03835