On the reality of Hawking radiation

Abstract

Hawking radiation caught the imagination of the public and physicists alike, because it seemed so counter-intuitive. By their very definition, black holes were supposed to endlessly absorb, but never emit, matter and energy. Yet, Hawking argued that taking Quantum Theory into account, they would radiate. The further belief was that Bekenstein and Hawking had developed the field of Black Hole Thermodynamics. Here I want to correct this impression and give due credit to Roger Penrose for founding the subject. Further, I discuss the question of whether Hawking radiation should be expected to really exist, arguing that there is reason to doubt it.