Instant Folded Strings and Black Fivebranes

Abstract: We study the recent claim that black NS5-branes are filled with folded strings. We calculate, in the near-extremal case, the number of folded strings at the black fivebranes interior, using different approaches, and get the exact same answer. The backreaction of the folded strings leads us to argue that the interior of the black fivebrane is AdS_2 (times a compact manifold) and that infalling matter cannot reach the interior, due to a shock wave at the horizon. These considerations also suggest a novel insight into the black fivebranes entropy.