Related papers: Gravity and/is Thermodynamics
I clarify the differences between various approaches in the literature which attempt to link gravity and thermodynamics. I then describe a new perspective based on the following features: (1) As in the case of any other matter field, the…
The fact that the equations of motion for matter remain invariant when a constant is added to the Lagrangian suggests postulating that the field equations of gravity should also respect this symmetry. This principle implies that: (1) the…
I describe an approach which relates classical gravity to the quantum microstructure of spacetime. In this approach, the field equations arise from maximizing the density of states of the matter plus geometry. The former is identified using…
A new approach to the cosmological constant problem is proposed by modifying Einstein's theory of general relativity, using instead a scalar-tensor theory of gravitation. This theory of gravity crucially incorporates the concept of quantum…
The equations of motion for matter fields are invariant under the shift of the matter lagrangian by a constant. Such a shift changes the energy momentum tensor of matter by T^a_b --> T^a_b +\rho \delta^a_b. In the conventional approach,…
I describe an approach which connects classical gravity with the quantum microstructure of spacetime. The field equations arise from maximizing the density of states of matter plus geometry. The former is identified using the thermodynamics…
Within thermodynamic models of gravity, where the universe is considered as a finite ensemble of quantum particles, cosmological constant in the Einstein's equations appears as a constant of integration. Then it can be bounded using…
It is very likely that the quantum description of spacetime is quite different from what we perceive at large scales, $l\gg (G\hbar/c^3)^{1/2}$. The long wave length description of spacetime, based on Einstein's equations, is similar to the…
Cosmological constant problem (in its various versions) is arguably the deepest gap in our understanding of theoretical physics, the solution to which may very likely require revisiting the Einstein theory of gravity. In this letter, I…
The connection between gravity and thermodynamics is explored. Examining a perfect fluid in gravitational equilibrium we find that the entropy is extremal only if Einstein's equations are satisfied. Conversely, one can derive part of…
The vacuum of quantum fields contains correlated fluctuations. When restricted to one side of a surface these have a huge entropy of entanglement that scales with the surface area. If UV physics renders this entropy finite, then a…
The formulation of a dynamical theory of General Relativity, including matter, is viewed as a problem of coupling Einstein's theory of pure gravity, formulated as an action principle, to an independently chosen and well defined field theory…
We analyze black hole thermodynamics in a generalized theory of gravity whose Lagrangian is an arbitrary function of the metric, the Ricci tensor and a scalar field. We can convert the theory into the Einstein frame via a "Legendre"…
Spacetimes with horizons show a resemblance to thermodynamic systems and it is possible to associate the notions of temperature and entropy with them. Several aspects of this connection are reviewed in a manner appropriate for broad…
Three theoretical criteria for gravitational theories beyond general relativity are considered: obtaining the cosmological constant as an integration constant, deriving the energy conservation law as a consequence of the field equations,…
There are two strong clues about the quantum structure of spacetime and the gravitational dynamics, which are almost universally ignored in the conventional approaches to quantize gravity. The first clue is that null surfaces exhibit…
The cosmological constant and its phenomenology remain among the greatest puzzles in theoretical physics. We review how modifications of Einstein's general relativity could alleviate the different problems associated with it that result…
By following the general guiding principle that nothing should be prescribed or imposed on the universal entity, spacetime, we establish that it is the homogeneity (by which we mean homogeneity and isotropy of space and homogeneity of time)…
The fact that a temperature and an entropy may be associated with horizons in semi-classical general relativity has led many to suspect that spacetime has microstructure. If this is indeed the case then its description via Riemannian…
Gravity is a macroscopic manifestation of a microscopic quantum theory of space-time, just as the theories of elasticity and hydrodynamics are the macroscopic manifestation of the underlying quantum theory of atoms. The connection of…