Abstract
Hawking radiation is derived from the existence of a Euclidean instanton which lives in the Euclidean black hole geometry. Upon taking into account the gravitational field of the instanton itself, its action is exactly equal to one-quarter the change in the horizon area. This result also applies to the Schwinger process, the Unruh process, and particle creation in de Sitter space. The implications for horizon thermodynamics are discussed.
- Received 10 January 1997
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.3810
©1997 American Physical Society
