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In contrast to the standard semiclassical analysis of black hole
thermodynamics, we present an alternative approach to probing the thermal
stability of black holes of large horizon area, under Hawking radiation,
based on essential tenets of a quantum theory of gravity. The approach
nowhere uses any aspect of classical geometry in its formulation. A set of
stability criteria is derived on the basis of these assumptions of quantum
gravity, and equilibrium statistical mechanics of Gaussian thermal
fluctuations, and the basic assumption that the black hole mass is an
arbitrary differentiable function of the horizon area, the charge and
angular momentum. Armed with these criteria, one can predict the thermal
stability of large classes of radiant black holes. In cases where
semiclassical analyses are available, our stability criteria not only
reproduce matching results, but also yield some extra information about the
parameter space where a sort of `quasi-stability' may exist. |