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Thermodynamic structure of gravitational field equations
Published in Institute of Physics Publishing
2010
Volume: 222
   
Issue: 1
Abstract
There is an intriguing analogy between the gravitational dynamics of horizons and thermodynamics, which is not yet understood at a deeper level. In fact, it has been shown for several cases that the on-horizon structure of the gravitational field equations in Einstein theory have the structure of first law of thermodynamics. In this talk, we discuss how such a structure arises and show that the field equations near any static horizon can be written as: TdS - dE PdV . Moreover, the result extends beyond Einstein theory and holds for Lanczos-Lovelock lagrangians as well. The entropy S we obtain is precisely the Noether charge entropy of Wald, and E provides a natural generalization of quasi-local energy of the horizon. We comment on several implications of this result, particularly the notion of gravitational entropy [treated as the Noether charge of diffeomorphism invariance] associated with horizons and it's role in gravitational dynamics arising out of virtual displacements of the horizon. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.
About the journal
JournalJournal of Physics: Conference Series
PublisherInstitute of Physics Publishing
ISSN17426588