Description
Black holes exhibit a non-vanishing entropy which, at leading order, is proportional to the horizon area in Planck units. A microscopic interpretation in quantum gravity requires this quantity to arise as the logarithm of an integer degeneracy, necessitating the inclusion of both perturbative and non-perturbative corrections. In this talk, we will review recent progress in understanding non-perturbative effects associated with massive, charged matter in four-dimensional N=2 theories and BPS black holes. These systems receive intricate higher-derivative corrections, and going beyond perturbation theory requires an exact treatment of quantum fluctuations. By computing exactly the functional determinants of BPS charged spin-0 and spin-1/2 fields, we uncover novel non-perturbative contributions and provide an interpretation in terms of complex semiclassical worldline saddles.
