Paper detail

Toroidal Tidal Effects in Microstate Geometries

Tidal effects in capped geometries computed in previous literature display no dynamics along internal (toroidal) directions. However, the dual CFT picture suggests otherwise. To resolve this tension, we consider a set of infalling null geodesics in a family of black hole microstate geometries with a smooth cap at the bottom of a long BTZ-like throat. Using the Penrose limit, we show that a string following one of these geodesics feels tidal stresses along all spatial directions, including internal toroidal directions. We find that the tidal effects along the internal directions are of the same order of magnitude as those along other, non-internal, directions. Furthermore, these tidal effects oscillate as a function of the distance from the cap -- as a string falls down the throat it alternately experiences compression and stretching. We explain some physical properties of this oscillation and comment on the dual CFT interpretation.