Evaporation of two-dimensional black holes.

Callan, Giddings, Harvey and Strominger have proposed an interesting two dimensional model theory that allows one to consider black hole evaporation in the semi-classical approximation. They originally hoped the black hole would evaporate completely without a singularity. However it has been shown that the semi-classical equations will give a singularity where the dilaton field reaches a certain critical value. Initially, it seems this singularity will be hidden inside a black hole. However, as the evaporation proceeds, the dilaton field on the horizon will approach the critical value but the temperature and rate of emission will remain finite. These results indicate either that there is a naked singularity, or (more likely) that the semi-classical approximation breaks down when the dilaton field approaches the critical value. ⋆ Work supported in part by the U.S. Dept. of Energy under Contract no. DEAC-03-81ER40050.