Quantum fluctuating geometries and the information paradox II

Abstract

In a previous paper we discussed corrections to Hawking radiation from a collapsing shell due to quantum fluctuations of the shell and the resulting horizon. For the computation of the quantum corrections we used several approximations. In this paper we take into account effects that were neglected in the previous one. We find important corrections including non-thermal contributions to the radiation at high frequencies and a frequency dependent time scale at which the emission of thermal radiation of frequency cuts off. Such scale tends to infinity in the limit of a classical shell. The fact that one has almost from the outset non-thermal radiation has significant implications for the information paradox. In particular the amount of non-thermality is considerably larger than what we had estimated before. A naive estimate of the evaporation time suggests a faster evaporation than in the usual Hawking analysis.