Gravitational Entropy and String Bits on the Stretched Horizon
Abstract
Description
We show that the entropy of Schwarzschild black holes in any dimension can be described by a gas of free string bits at the stretched horizon. The number of string bits is equal to the black hole entropy and energy dependent. For an asymptotic observer the bit gas is at the Hawking temperature. We show that the same description is also valid for de Sitter space--times in any dimension.
15 pages in phyzzx.tex, minor corrections, one reference added
15 pages in phyzzx.tex, minor corrections, one reference added