Horizon Thermodynamics Research Articles

Surface area products for Kerr-Taub-NUT space-time

We examine properties of the inner and outer horizon thermodynamics of Taub-NUT (Newman-Unti-Tamburino) and Kerr-Taub-NUT (KTN) black hole (BH) in four-dimensional Lorentzian geometry. We compare and contrasted these properties with the properties of Reissner Nordstrøm (RN) BH and Kerr BH. We focus on “area product”, “entropy product”, “irreducible mass product” of the event horizon and Cauchy horizons. Due to mass dependence, we speculate that these products have no nice quantization feature. Nor do they have any universal property. We further observe that the first law of BH thermodynamics and Smarr-Gibbs-Duhem relations do not hold for Taub-NUT (TN) and KTN BH in Lorentzian regime. The failure of these aforementioned features are due to the presence of the non-trivial NUT charge which makes the space-time be asymptotically non-flat, in contrast with RN BH and Kerr BH. Another reason for the failure is that Lorentzian TN and Lorentzian KTN geometries contain Dirac-Misner–type singularity, which is a manifestation of a non-trivial topological twist of the manifold. The black-hole mass formula and Christodoulou-Ruffini mass formula for TN and KTN BHs are also computed. These thermodynamic product formulae give us further understanding of the nature of inner as well as outer BH entropy at the microscopic level.

Criticality and surface tension in rotating horizon thermodynamics

We study a modified horizon thermodynamics and the associated criticality for rotating black hole spacetimes. Namely, we show that under a virtual displacement of the black hole horizon accompanied by an independent variation of the rotation parameter, the radial Einstein equation takes a form of a ‘cohomogeneity two’ horizon first law, , where E and J are the horizon energy (an analogue of the Misner–Sharp mass) and the horizon angular momentum, Ω is the horizon angular velocity, A is the horizon area, and σ is the surface tension induced by the matter fields. For fixed angular momentum, the above equation simplifies and the more familiar (cohomogeneity one) horizon first law is obtained, where P is the pressure of matter fields and V is the horizon volume. A universal equation of state is obtained in each case and the corresponding critical behavior is studied.

RG flow and thermodynamics of causal horizons in higher-derivative AdS gravity

In arXiv:1508.01343 [hep-th], one of the authors proposed that in AdS/CFT the gravity dual of the boundary $c$-theorem is the second law of thermodynamics satisfied by causal horizons in AdS and this was verified for Einstein gravity in the bulk. In this paper we verify this for higher derivative theories. We pick up theories for which an entropy expression satisfying the second law exists and show that the entropy density evaluated on the causal horizon in a RG flow geometry is a holographic c-function. We also prove that given a theory of gravity described by a local covariant action in the bulk a sufficient condition to ensure holographic c-theorem is that the second law of causal horizon thermodynamics be satisfied by the theory. This allows us to explicitly construct holographic c-function in a theory where there is curvature coupling between gravity and matter and standard null energy condition cannot be defined although second law is known to hold. Based on the duality between c-theorem and the second law of causal horizon thermodynamics proposed in arXiv:1508.01343 [hep-th] and the supporting calculations of this paper we conjecture that every Unitary higher derivative theory of gravity in AdS satisfies the second law of causal horizon thermodynamics. If this is not true then c-theorem will be violated in a unitary Lorentz invariant field theory.

Thermodynamic products for Sen black hole

AbstractWe investigate the properties of inner and outer horizon thermodynamics of Sen black hole (BH) both in Einstein frame (EF) and string frame (SF). We also compute area (or entropy) product, area (or entropy) sum of the said BH in EF as well as SF. In the EF, we observe that the area (or entropy) product is universal, whereas area (or entropy) sum is not universal. On the other hand, in the SF, area (or entropy) product and area (or entropy) sum don’t have any universal behaviour because they all are depends on Arnowitt–Deser–Misner (ADM) mass parameter. We also verify that the first law is satisfied at the Cauchy horizon as well as event horizon (EH). In addition, we also compute other thermodynamic products and sums in the EF as well as in the SF. We further compute the Smarr mass formula and Christodoulou’s irreducible mass formula for Sen BH. Moreover, we compute the area bound and entropy bound for both the horizons. The upper area bound for EH is actually the Penrose like inequality, which is the first geometric inequality in BHs. Furthermore, we compute the central charges of the left and right moving sectors of the dual CFT in Sen/CFT correspondence using thermodynamic relations. These thermodynamic relations on the multi-horizons give us further understanding the microscopic nature of BH entropy (both interior and exterior).

Stability of black holes based on horizon thermodynamics

On the basis of horizon thermodynamics we study the thermodynamic stability of black holes constructed in general relativity and Gauss–Bonnet gravity. In the framework of horizon thermodynamics there are only five thermodynamic variables E, P, V, T, S. It is not necessary to consider concrete matter fields, which may contribute to the pressure of black hole thermodynamic system. In non-vacuum cases, we can derive the equation of state, P=P(V,T). According to the requirements of stable equilibrium in conventional thermodynamics, we start from these thermodynamic variables to calculate the heat capacity at constant pressure and Gibbs free energy and analyze the local and global thermodynamic stability of black holes. It is shown that P>0 is the necessary condition for black holes in general relativity to be thermodynamically stable, however this condition cannot be satisfied by many black holes in general relativity. For black hole in Gauss–Bonnet gravity negative pressure can be feasible, but only local stable black hole exists in this case.

RG flow and thermodynamics of causal horizons in AdS

Causal horizons in pure Poincare $AdS$ are Killing horizons generated by dilatation vector. Renormalization group (RG) flow breaks the dilatation symmetry and makes the horizons dynamical. We propose that the boundary RG flow is dual to the thermodynamics of the causal horizon. As a check of our proposal we show that the gravity dual of the boundary $c$-theorem is the second law of thermodynamics obeyed by causal horizons. The holographic $c$-function is the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy (density) of the dynamical causal horizon. We explicitly construct the $c$-function in a generic class of RG-flow geometries and show that it interpolates monotonically between the UV and IR central charges as a result of the second law.

Thermodynamics of apparent horizons under conformal and Kerr–Schild maps

We derive the transformation properties of the internal energy and Kodama temperature of dynamical (spherically symmetric) black hole solutions generated through spacetime mappings. We use the Sultana-Dyer black hole and the Reissner–Nordström solution to provide prototypical examples testing our transformation formulae.

Lanczos-Lovelock gravity from a thermodynamic perspective

The deep connection between gravitational dynamics and horizon thermodynamics leads to several intriguing features both in general relativity and in Lanczos-Lovelock theories of gravity. Recently in arXiv:1312.3253 several additional results strengthening the above connection have been established within the framework of general relativity. In this work we provide a generalization of the above setup to Lanczos-Lovelock gravity as well. To our expectation it turns out that most of the results obtained in the context of general relativity generalize to Lanczos-Lovelock gravity in a straightforward but non-trivial manner. Another very interesting feature for gravity is that gravitational field equations for arbitrary static and spherically symmetric spacetimes with horizon can be written as a thermodynamic identity in the near horizon limit. This result holds in both general relativity and in Lanczos-Lovelock gravity as well. In a previous work [arXiv:1505.05297] we have shown that, for an arbitrary spacetime, the gravitational field equations near any null surface generically leads to a thermodynamic identity. In this work, we have also generalized this result to Lanczos-Lovelock gravity by showing that gravitational field equations for Lanczos-Lovelock gravity near an arbitrary null surface can be written as a thermodynamic identity. By taking appropriate limit to general relativity we can reproduce the results presented in arXiv:1312.3253 and arXiv:1505.05297.

First law of thermodynamics for dynamical apparent horizons and the entropy of Friedmann universes

Recently, we have generalized the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy formula for black holes embedded in expanding Friedmann universes. In this letter, we begin the study of this new formula to obtain the first law of thermodynamics for dynamical apparent horizons. In this regard we obtain a generalized expression for the internal energy $U$ together with a distinction between the dynamical temperature $T_D$ of apparent horizons and the related one due to thermodynamics formulas. Remarkable, when the expression for $U$ is applied to the apparent horizon of the universe, we found that this internal energy is a constant of motion. Our calculations thus show that the total energy of our spatially flat universe including the gravitational contribution, when calculated at the apparent horizon, is an universal constant that can be set to zero from simple dimensional considerations. This strongly support the holographic principle.

Apparent horizon and gravitational thermodynamics of the Universe: Solutions to the temperature and entropy confusions and extensions to modified gravity

The thermodynamics of the Universe is restudied by requiring its compatibility with the holographic-style gravitational equations which govern the dynamics of both the cosmological apparent horizon and the entire Universe, and possible solutions are proposed to the existent confusions regarding the apparent-horizon temperature and the cosmic entropy evolution. We start from the generic Lambda Cold Dark Matter ($\Lambda$CDM) cosmology of general relativity (GR) to establish a framework for the gravitational thermodynamics. The Cai-Kim Clausius equation for the isochoric process of an instantaneous apparent horizon indicates that, the Universe and its horizon entropies encode the \emph{positive heat out} thermodynamic sign convention, which encourages us to adjust the traditional positive-heat-in Gibbs equation into the positive-heat-out version $dE_m=-T_mdS_m-P_mdV$. It turns out that the standard and the generalized second laws (GSLs) of nondecreasing entropies are always respected by the event-horizon system as long as the expanding Universe is dominated by nonexotic matter $-1\leq w_m\leq 1$, while for the apparent-horizon simple open system the two second laws hold if $-1\leq w_m<-1/3$; also, the artificial local equilibrium assumption is abandoned in the GSL. All constraints regarding entropy evolution are expressed by the equation of state parameter, which show that from a thermodynamic perspective the phantom dark energy is less favored than the cosmological constant and the quintessence. Finally, the whole framework is extended from GR and $\Lambda$CDM to modified gravities with field equations $R_{\mu\nu}-Rg_{\mu\nu}/2=8\pi G_{\text{eff}} T_{\mu\nu}^{\text{(eff)}}$. Furthermore, this paper argues that the Cai-Kim temperature is more suitable than Hayward, and the Bekenstein-Hawking and Wald entropies cannot unconditionally apply to the event and particle horizons.

Universal horizons in maximally symmetric spaces

Universal horizons in Hořava–Lifshitz gravity and Einstein-æther theory are the equivalent of causal horizons in general relativity and appear to have many of the same properties, including a first law of horizon thermodynamics and thermal radiation. Since universal horizons are infrared (IR) solutions of a putative power counting renormalizable quantum gravitational theory, fully understanding their thermodynamics will shed light on the interplay between black hole thermodynamics and quantum gravity. In this paper, we provide a complete classification, including asymptotic charges, of all four-dimensional static and spherically symmetric universal horizon solutions with maximally symmetric asymptotics — the equivalents of the Schwarzschild, Schwarzschild–de Sitter or Schwarzschild–anti-de Sitter spacetimes. Additionally, we derive the associated first laws for the universal horizon solutions. Finally, we prove that independent of asymptotic boundary conditions, any spherically symmetric solution in Hořava–Lifshitz gravity with a universal horizon is also a solution of Einstein-æther theory, thereby broadening and complementing the known equivalence region of the solution spaces.

Historical and Physical Account on Entropy and Perspectives on the Second Law of Thermodynamics for Astrophysical and Cosmological Systems

We performed an in depth analysis of the subjects of entropy and the second law of thermodynamics and how they are treated in astrophysical systems. These subjects are retraced historically from the early works on thermodynamics to the modern statistical mechanical approach and analyzed in view of specific practices within the field of astrophysics. As often happens in discussions regarding cosmology, the implications of this analysis range from physics to philosophy of science. We argue that the difficult question regarding entropy and the second law in the scope of cosmology is a consequence of the dominating paradigm. We further demonstrate this point by assuming an alternative paradigm, not related to thermodynamics of horizons, and successfully describing entropic behavior of astrophysical systems.

GR 20 parallel session A3: modified gravity

The parallel session (A3), on “Modified Gravity”, enjoyed one on the largest number of abstract submissions (over 80), resulting in the selection of 24 oral presentations. The three short papers presented in the following sections are based on the session talks by Arif Mohd on thermodynamics of universal horizons in Einstein-Æther theory, Conformal anomalies in Hořava-Lifshitz gravity by Charles Melby-Thompson and detectability of scalar gravitational waves by LIGO and Virgo by Peter Shawhan. They have been selected as a representative sample, to illustrate some of the best in the remarkable and encouraging variety of topics discussed in the session—ranging from highly theoretical, to phenomenological, observational, and experimental—with all these areas playing an integral part in our quest to understand the limits of standard general relativity.

Horizon thermodynamics and gravitational field equations in quasi-topological gravity

In this paper we show that the gravitational field equations of $(n+1)$% -dimensional topological black holes with constant horizon curvature, in cubic and quartic quasi-topological gravity, can be recast in the form of the first law of thermodynamics, $dE=TdS-PdV$, at the black hole horizon. This procedure leads to extract an expression for the horizon entropy as well as the energy (mass) in terms of the horizon radius, which coincide exactly with those obtained in quasi-topological gravity by solving the field equations and using the Wald's method. We also argue that this approach is powerful and can be extended to all higher order quasi-topological gravity for extracting the corresponding entropy and energy in terms of horizon radius.

Horizon thermodynamics and spacetime mappings

When black holes are dynamical, event horizons are replaced by apparent and trapping horizons. Conformal and Kerr--Schild transformations are widely used in relation to dynamical black holes, and we study the behavior under such transformations of quantities related to the thermodynamics of these horizons, such as the Misner--Sharp--Hernandez mass (internal energy), the Kodama vector, surface gravity, and temperature. The transformation properties are not those expected on the basis of naive arguments.

Structure of the gravitational action and its relation with horizon thermodynamics and emergent gravity paradigm

If gravity is an emergent phenomenon, as suggested by several recent results, then the structure of the action principle for gravity should encode this fact. With this motivation we study several features of the Einstein-Hilbert action and establish direct connections with horizon thermodynamics. We begin by introducing the concept of holographically conjugate variables (HCVs) in terms of which the surface term in the action has a specific relationship with the bulk term. In addition to g_{ab} and its conjugate momentum \sqrt{-g} M^{cab}, this procedure allows us to (re)discover and motivate strongly the use of f^{ab}=\sqrt{-g}g^{ab} and its conjugate momentum N^c_{ab}. The gravitational action can then be interpreted as a momentum space action for these variables. We also show that many expressions in classical gravity simplify considerably in this approach. For example, the field equations can be written in a form analogous to Hamilton's equations for a suitable Hamiltonian if we use these variables. More importantly, the variation of the surface term, evaluated on any null surface which acts a local Rindler horizon can be given a direct thermodynamic interpretation. The term involving the variation of the dynamical variable leads to T\delta S while the term involving the variation of the conjugate momentum leads to S\delta T. We have found this correspondence only for the choice of variables (g_{ab}, \sqrt{-g} M^{cab}) or (f^{ab}, N^c_{ab}). We use this result to provide a direct thermodynamical interpretation of the boundary condition in the action principle, when it is formulated in a spacetime region bounded by the null surfaces. We analyse these features from several different perspectives and provide a detailed description, which offers insights about the nature of classical gravity and emergent paradigm.

Nonlinear electrodynamics in f(T) gravity and generalized second law of thermodynamics

In this paper, we study the nonlinear electrodynamics in the framework of $f(T)$ gravity for FRW universe along with dust matter, magnetic and torsion contributions. We evaluate the equation of state and deceleration parameters to explore the accelerated expansion of the universe. The validity of generalized second law of thermodynamics for Hubble and event horizons is also investigated in this scenario. For this purpose, we assume pole-like and power-law forms of scale factor and construct $f(T)$ models. The graphical behavior of the cosmological parameters versus smaller values of redshift $z$ represent the accelerated expansion of the universe. It turns out that the generalized second law of thermodynamics holds for all values of $z$ with event horizon for power-law scale factor whereas it holds in a specific range of $z$ with Hubble horizon for power-law and both horizons in pole-like scale factors.

Electromagnetic duality in dyonic Reissner-Nordström/conformal-field-theory correspondence

The area law of Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of the black hole suggests that the black hole should have a lower-dimensional holographic description. It has been found recently that such holographic pictures could be set up from the study of the thermodynamics of both outer and inner horizons for a large class of rotating and charged black holes. For a four-dimensional dyonic Reissner-Nordstr\"om black hole, its thermodynamics indicates that it has multiple holographic pictures---not only the electric and magnetic ones corresponding to the conserved electric and magnetic charges carried by the black hole, but also the more generic ones generated by the $SL(2,Z)$ transformations. We show that this $SL(2,Z)$ group originates from the underlying electromagnetic duality symmetry in the Einstein-Maxwell theory. It turns out that the thermodynamics of the black hole not only encodes the information of holographic pictures; moreover, it could reflect the symmetries of the underlying theory.

Towards thermodynamics of universal horizons in Einstein-æther theory.

Holography grew out of black hole thermodynamics, which relies on the causal structure and general covariance of general relativity. In Einstein-æther theory, a generally covariant theory with a dynamical timelike unit vector, every solution breaks local Lorentz invariance, thereby grossly modifying the causal structure of gravity. However, there are still absolute causal boundaries, called "universal horizons," which are not Killing horizons yet obey a first law of black hole mechanics and must have an entropy if they do not violate a generalized second law. We couple a scalar field to the timelike vector and show via the tunneling approach that the universal horizon radiates as a blackbody at a fixed temperature, even if the scalar field equations also violate local Lorentz invariance. This suggests that the class of holographic theories may be much broader than currently assumed.

Horizon thermodynamics in pregeometry

The discovery of the various thermodynamical aspects of classical gravity has led to a picture in which Einstein equations might be seen as an equation of state, relating the dynamics of null hypersurfaces to thermodynamic relations for a system at or close to equilibrium. The explanation of such a fact is expected to come from a complete theory of quantum gravity. In absence of it, I will use a pregeometric model of emergent gravity to discuss the role of Wheeler's boundary of a boundary principle in this specific problem. The goal is to show the relevance of the equilibration of the microscopic degrees of freedom in establishing the thermodynamical status of the semiclassical gravity limit, and how the equilibration of the system might lead to additional physical effects. The role of phase transitions (conjectured in certain combinatorial models proposed to define a quantum theory of gravity, namely tensor models and group field theories) will be also considered in this light, showing how criticality and deviations from it relate to these ideas.