Vol. 4 (2001) > lrr-2001-6

Article Abstract

We review the present status of black hole thermodynamics. Our review includes discussion of classical black hole thermodynamics, Hawking radiation from black holes, the generalized second law, and the issue of entropy bounds. A brief survey also is given of approaches to the calculation of black hole entropy. We conclude with a discussion of some unresolved open issues.

Keywords: black holes, Hawking radiation, generalized second law, statistical mechanics, variational methods, quantum gravity, black hole thermodynamics, Killing horizons, Euclidean methods, thermodynamics, entropy bounds, event horizons, quantum field theory