Counting Dyons in N=8 String Theory

Using a simple hypothesis about the degrees of freedom of intersecting branes we find a microscopic counting argument that reproduces the entropy of a class of BPS black holes of type IIA string theory on general Calabi Yau three folds.

We present two 1/8 supersymmetric intersecting p-brane solutions of 11-dimensional supergravity which upon compactification to four dimensions reduce to extremal dyonic black holes with finite area of horizon. The first solution is a configuration of three intersecting 5-branes with an extra momentum flow along the common string. The second describes a system of two 2-branes and two 5-branes. Related (by compactification and T-duality) solution of type IIB theory corresponds ...

Motivated by the recent conjecture of Ooguri, Strominger and Vafa, we compute the semi-canonical partition function of BPS black holes in N=4 and N=8 string theories, to all orders in perturbation theory. Not only are the black hole partition functions surprisingly simple; they capture the full topological string amplitudes, as expected from the OSV conjecture. The agreement is not perfect, however, as there are differences between the black hole and topological string partit...

This is a short summary of my lectures given at the Fourth Mexican School on Gravitation and Mathematical Physics. These lectures gave a brief introduction to black holes in string theory, in which I primarily focussed on describing some of the recent calculations of black hole entropy using the statistical mechanics of D-brane states. The following overview will also provide the interested students with an introduction to the relevant literature.

We consider an embedding of the extremal four-dimensional Reissner-Nordstr\"om black hole into type $IIB$ string theory. The equivalent type $IIB$ configuration, in the D-brane weak-coupling picture, is a bound state of D1- and D5-branes threaded by fundamental type $IIB$ strings. The bound state involves also a NSNS solitonic 5-brane, mimicking the role of the Kaluza-Klein magnetic monopole. The statistical entropy derived by counting the degeneracy of the BPS-saturated exci...

This thesis is devoted to trying to find a microscopic quantum description of black holes. We consider black holes in string theory which is a quantum theory of gravity. We find that the ``area law'' black hole entropy for extremal and near-extremal charged black holes arises from counting microscopic configurations. We study black holes in five and four spacetime dimensions. We calculate the Hawking temperature and give a physical picture of the Hawking decay process. Hopefu...

We study various aspects of power suppressed as well as exponentially suppressed corrections in the asymptotic expansion of the degeneracy of quarter BPS dyons in N=4 supersymmetric string theories. In particular we explicitly calculate the power suppressed corrections up to second order and the first exponentially suppressed corrections. We also propose a macroscopic origin of the exponentially suppressed corrections using the quantum entropy function formalism. This suggest...

We summarize the results for four-dimensional Bogomol'nyi-Prasad- Sommerfield (BPS) saturated dyonic black hole solutions arising in the Kaluza-Klein sector and the three-form field sector of the eleven-dimensional supergravity on a seven-torus. These black hole solutions break $3\over 4$ of $N=8$ supersymmetry, fill out the multipletes of $U$-duality group, and the two classes of solutions are related to each other by a discrete symmetry transformation in $E_7$. Using the fi...

This is a set of introductory lecture notes on black holes in string theory. After reviewing some aspects of string theory such as dualities, brane solutions, supersymmetric and non-extremal intersection rules, we analyze in detail extremal and non-extremal 5d black holes. We first present the D-brane counting for extremal black holes. Then we show that 4d and 5d non-extremal black holes can be mapped to the BTZ black hole (times a compact manifold) by means of dualities. The...

Certain helicity trace indices of charged states in N=4 and N=8 superstring theory have been computed exactly using their explicit weakly coupled microscopic description. These indices are expected to count the exact quantum degeneracies of black holes carrying the same charges. In order for this interpretation to be consistent, these indices should be positive integers. We prove this positivity property for a class of four/five dimensional black holes in type II string theor...