Partition Function of the Schwarzschild Black Hole

We consider a microscopic model of a stretched horizon of the Schwarzschild black hole. In our model the stretched horizon consists of a finite number of discrete constituents. Assuming that the quantum states of the Schwarzschild black hole are encoded in the quantum states of the constituents of its stretched horizon in a certain manner we obtain an explicit, analytic expression for the partition function of the hole. Our partition function predicts, among other things, the Hawking effect, and provides it with a microscopic, statistical interpretation.