Unitarity, Information, and Black Holes

If a black hole is no longer growing but instead is "evaporating" through the release of Hawking radiation, would it not eventually become a non-black hole, and thereby once again be subject to unitarity, in which case the information paradox is resolved?
- brian sharkey
va usa

If the process really went that way: unitary period --> black hole period--> unitary period, then unitarity would not be maintained. Information would be lost. You can't regain your unitary virginity. The best current picture, however, is that unitarity is maintained throughout, including during the formation of an almost-black-hole and its ultimate evaporation. In fact, a paper giving explicit calculations confirming this picture just came out in the last few days. ()

Mike W.

(published on 04/13/2015)