Phase transitions in 4D Gauss–Bonnet–de Sitter black holes

Abstract

We investigate thermodynamic aspects of black holes in the recently formulated four dimensional Gauss-Bonnet theory of gravity, focusing on its asymptotically de Sitter ($\Lambda>0$) solutions. We take a Euclidean path integral approach, where thermodynamic data is fixed at a finite radius `cavity' outside the black hole to achieve equilibrium in the presence of the cosmological horizon. Working in the extended phase space where the cosmological constant is treated as a thermodynamic pressure, we study the phase structure of both uncharged and charged solutions, uncovering a wealth of phenomena. In the uncharged case, black holes are found to undergo either the standard Hawking-Page-like transition to empty de Sitter space or a small-large transition (akin to those seen in charged AdS black holes in pure Einstein gravity) depending on the pressure. We also find a triple point where the radiation, small, and large black hole phases coexist, and a zeroth-order phase transition within a narrow range of Gauss-Bonnet coupling parameter. Reentrant phase transitions between radiation and a small black hole also exist inside a certain parameter range. Similar phenomena are found in the charged case, with the charge parameter playing a role analogous to the Gauss-Bonnet coupling parameter in determining the phase structure.