AdS(2)/CFT1 correspondence and near-extremal black hole entropy

We provide a realization of the AdS(2)/CFT1 correspondence in terms of asym ptotic symmetries of the AdS(2) x S-1 and AdS(2) x S-2 geometries arising i n near-extremal BTZ and Reissner-Nordstrom black holes. We evaluate the cor responding central charges and show that Cardy's formula exactly accounts f or the deviation of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy from extremality. We als o argue that this result can be extended to more general black holes near e xtremality. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.