Related papers: Boundary Terms, Variational Principles and Higher …
In recent work, Hollands, Kov\'acs and Reall have built on previous work of Wall to provide a definition of dynamical black hole entropy for gravitational effective field theories (EFTs). This entropy satisfies a second law of black hole…
We consider the most general higher order corrections to the pure gravity action in $D$ dimensions constructed from the basis of the curvature monomial invariants of order 4 and 6, and degree 2 and 3, respectively. Perturbatively solving…
We initiate a systematic study of Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity in the presence of boundaries subject to conformal boundary conditions, in which the conformal class of the boundary metric is kept fixed. In Einstein gravity, the trace of the…
We elaborate on the role of higher-derivative curvature invariants as a quantum selection mechanism of regular spacetimes in the framework of the Lorentzian path integral approach to quantum gravity. We show that for a large class of black…
Boundary conditions play a crucial role in the path-integral approach to quantum gravity and quantum cosmology, as well as in the current attempts to understand the one-loop semiclassical properties of quantum field theories. Within this…
In this paper we generalize the construction of locally boosted black brane space time to higher derivative gravities. We consider the Gauss-Bonnet term (with coefficient $\alpha'$) as a toy example. We find the solution to the $\alpha'$…
In this paper I present an action principle for odd dimensional AdS gravity which consists of introducing another manifold with the same boundary and a very specific boundary term. This new action allows and alternative approach to the…
Motivated by holography, we explore higher derivative corrections to four-dimensional Anti-de Sitter (AdS) gravity. We point out that in such a theory the variational problem is generically not well-posed given only a boundary condition for…
We review recent progress in the study of varying constants and attempts to explain the observed values of the fundamental physical constants. We describe the variation of $G$ in Newtonian and relativistic scalar-tensor gravity theories. We…
The variation of the energy for a gravitational system is directly defined from the Hamiltonian field equations of General Relativity. When the variation of the energy is written in a covariant form it splits into two (covariant)…
The ${\bf f}(R)$ gravity field equations are derived as an equation of state of local space-time thermodynamics. Jacobson's arguments are non-trivially extended, by means of a more general definition of local entropy, for which Wald's…
Within a first-order framework, we comprehensively examine the role played by boundary conditions in the canonical formulation of a completely general two-dimensional gravity model. Our analysis particularly elucidates the perennial themes…
In the present work, we review some general aspects of modified gravity theories, investigating mathematical and physical properties and, more specifically, the feature of viable and realistic models able to reproduce the dark energy epoch…
We present a variational formulation of Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory in flat spacetime, when the asymptotic value of the scalar field is not fixed. We obtain the boundary terms that make the variational principle well posed and then…
We consider free higher derivative theories of scalars and Dirac fermions in the presence of a boundary in general dimension. We establish a method for finding consistent conformal boundary conditions in these theories by removing certain…
The Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian has no well-defined variational derivative with respect to the metric. This issue has to be tackled by adding a suitable surface term to the action, which is a peculiar feature of gravity. We also know that…
It is shown that under certain boundary conditions the virial theorem has to be modified. We analyze the origin of the extra term and compute it in particular examples. The Coulomb and harmonic oscillator with point interaction have been…
We establish a new relation between classical observables for scattering and bound orbits of a massive probe particle in a Kerr background. We find an exact representation of the Hamilton-Jacobi action in terms of the conserved charges…
The existence of black holes is a central prediction of general relativity and thus serves as a basic consistency test for modified theories of gravity. In spherical symmetry, only two classes of dynamic solutions are compatible with the…
We take a first step towards developing a new language to describe causal structure, event horizons, and quantum extremal surfaces (QES) for the bulk description of holographic systems beyond the standard Einstein gravity regime. By…