The Apparent Universe

We exploit the parallel between dynamical black holes and cosmological spacetimes to describe the evolution of Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker universes from the point of view of an observer in terms of the dynamics of the apparent horizon. Using the Hayward-Kodama formalism of dynamical black holes, we clarify the role of the Clausius relation to derive the Friedmann equations for a universe, in the spirit of Jacobson's work on the thermodynamics of spacetime. We also show how dynamics at the horizon naturally leads to the quantum-mechanical process of Hawking radiation. We comment on the connection of this work with recent ideas to consider our observable Universe as a Bose-Einstein condensate and on the corresponding role of vacuum energy.