Trapped string states in AdS5 black hole geometry: a path toward Hawking radiation

A bstract We investigate the quantum dynamics of a closed bosonic string in the curved spacetime of an AdS 5 -Schwarzschild black hole. Starting from the Polyakov action, we perform a canonical quantization of the string and formulate its quantum mechanical equation of motion in the Schrödinger (string coordinate) representation. This framework facilitates in obtaining quantum mechanical wave equation governing the radial and angular modes of the string. A central result of our analysis is the emergence of a trapping radius in the exterior region of the black hole. Near this radius, the radial motion of the string is governed by an effective potential that supports small, quantized oscillations, akin to a quantum harmonic oscillator. This behavior indicates a localization of the string at the trapping surface, where it becomes dynamically confined. The angular sector of the wave function is found to be governed by the confluent Heun equation, yielding confluent Heun functions as the angular part of the wave function. The emergence of a trapping surface is analogous to the stretched horizon proposed by Susskind in the context of black hole complementarity. The quantized harmonic oscillation of the string at the trapping radius complements with the Planck’s black body whence the string can emit black-body radiation. Thus, the quantum dynamics of strings in black hole spacetimes offers a novel path to probing the quantum origin of Hawking radiation.