Gravitational statistical mechanics: a model

DOI10.1088/0264-9381/18/23/309zbMATH Open1007.83016arXivgr-qc/0101031OpenAlexW2100914351MaRDI QIDQ4328751FDOQ4328751

Authors: Seth Major, Kevin L. Setter 

Publication date: 29 April 2002

Published in: Classical and Quantum Gravity (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: Using the quantum Hamiltonian for a gravitational system with boundary, we find the partition function and derive the resulting thermodynamics. The Hamiltonian is the boundary term required by functional differentiability of the action for Lorentzian general relativity. In this model, states of quantum geometry are represented by spin networks. We show that the statistical mechanics of the model reduces to that of a simple non-interacting gas of particles with spin. Using both canonical and grand canonical descriptions, we investigate two temperature regimes determined by the fundamental constant in the theory, m. In the high temperature limit (kT > m), the model is thermodynamically stable. For low temperatures (kT < m) and for macroscopic areas of the bounding surface, the entropy is proportional to area (with logarithmic correction), providing a simple derivation of the Bekenstein-Hawking result. By comparing our results to known semiclassical relations we are able to fix the fundamental scale. Also in the low temperature, macroscopic limit, the quantum geometry on the boundary forms a `condensate' in the lowest energy level (j=1/2).

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0101031

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zbMATH Keywords

Hamiltonianspin networksgravitational statistical mechanics

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Interacting particle systems in time-dependent statistical mechanics (82C22) Quantization of the gravitational field (83C45)

Cited In (8)

• Statistical properties of classical gravitating particles in (2+1) dimensions
• Statistical Mechanics of Infinite Gravitating Systems
• Logarithmic correction to the brane equation in topological Reissner-Nordström de Sitter space
• A comment or two on holographic dark energy
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Tsallis' statistics for long range interactions: gravity
• Gravity analog model of non-equilibrium thermodynamics
• Energy spectrum of a quantum spacetime with boundary

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