  Identifying the fundamental degrees of freedom of a black hole poses a
long-standing puzzle. In hep-th/0511133 Goldberger and Rothstein forwarded a
theory of the low frequency degrees of freedom within the effective field
theory approach, where they are relevancy-ordered but of unclear physical
origin. Here these degrees of freedom are identified with near-horizon but
non-compact gravitational perturbations which are decomposed into delocalized
multipoles. Their world-line (kinetic) action is determined within the
classical effective field theory (CLEFT) approach and their interactions are
discussed. The case of the long-wavelength scattering of a scalar wave off a
Schwarzschild black hole is treated in some detail, interpreting within the
CLEFT approach the equality of the leading absorption cross section with the
horizon area.
