Wednesday 7 March 2018 at UIC – Erik Curiel (LMU/Harvard):  Two Paths to the Einstein Field Equation from Horizon Thermodynamics

Abstract: “There are today two major research programs that attempt to derive
general relativity—the Einstein field equation—from the thermodynamical properties of causal horizons, that based on the work of Jacobson and that on the work of Padmanabhan, both inspired by and relying on the framework of black-hole thermodynamics.  Each has had tantalizing, and similar, successes.  It does not seem to be widely recognized in the literature, however, that there are deep differences between the two, both in mathematical form and in conceptual foundation.  In this talk, I compare the two with the particular aim of teasing out what exactly each takes to be the thermodynamical properties of horizons.  The hope is that the differences between the two, and how they arrive at their common goal, may shed light on different ways one may conceive of “purely gravitational” phenomena as being thermodynamical in character, and what it may even mean in the first place to impute thermodynamical characteristics to purely gravitational systems.  I also discuss technical and conceptual problems with the approaches, whose resolutions—or even just their sustained attempt—would provide great insight on all these issues as well.” In terms of technical difficulty, this talk rates 4/5 (in parts).

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