Entropy and Gravitation
A special issue of Entropy (ISSN 1099-4300). This special issue belongs to the section "Astrophysics, Cosmology, and Black Holes".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2019) | Viewed by 21734
Special Issue Editor
Interests: informaton theory; statistical mechanics; quantum information
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
It is a quite exciting, almost revolutionary question to ask ourselves whether gravity is fundamental or emergent.
A deep discussion on this issue might provide important links to a complete theory of quantum gravity, as a maximal aspiration, or will at least lead to interesting insights.
A notable example of such an insight into the nature of gravity arises from the analysis of black hole thermodynamics, which motivates general and putative connections between gravity and thermodynamics [1–4]. On this basis, Jacobson argued that the Einstein equation could be derived from the proportionality of entropy and the horizon area, together with the first law of thermodynamics. He considered the possibility that the Einstein equation might be regarded as a thermodynamic equation of state [5]. Later, Padmanabhan demonstrated that motion equations for gravity in any diffeomorphism invariant theory can be given a thermodynamic interpretation, closely connected to the structure of functional action [6,7].
These results suggest that gravity may be explained as an emergent phenomenon and might possess a thermodynamic or entropic origin [8]. In 2011, Verlinde introduced a novel argument for emergent gravity, based on the celebrated holographic principle [9].
Verlinde developed a convincing line of reasoning that purports to claim that gravity is not an elementary but an entropic force, which is caused by a change in the amount of information associated to the spatial positions of pieces of matter. This notion is exciting. If it is right, it might have important implications for the origin of gravity and its desired unification with the quantum realm. Verlinde’s conjecture [9] has actually been proven in a classical scenario [10].
The stage seems to be set for a Special Issue of Entropy that may provide didactic reviews on these issues as well as new, relevant proposals.
References
- Bardeen, J.M.; Carter, B.; Hawking, S.W. The four laws of black hole mechanics. Math. Phys. 1973, 31, 161–170.
- Bekenstein, J.D. Extraction of energy and charge from a black hole. Rev. D 1973, 7, 949–953.
- Bekenstein, J.D. Black holes and entropy. Rev. D 1973, 7, 2333–2346.
- Hawking, S.W. Particle creation by black holes. Math. Phys. 1975, 43, 199–220.
- Jacobson, T. Thermodynamics of spacetime: The Einstein equation of state. Rev. Lett. 1995, 75, 1260–1263.
- Padmanabhan, T. Entropy density of spacetime and thermodynamic interpretation of field equations of gravity in any diffeomorphism invariant theory. arXiv 2009, arXiv:0903.1254.
- Padmanabhan, T. Entropy density of spacetime and gravity: A conceptual synthesis. J. Mod. Phys. D 2009, 18, 2189–2193.
- Padmanabhan, T. Thermodynamical aspects of gravity: New insights. arXiv 2009, arXiv:0911.5004.
- Verlinde, E.P. On the origin of gravity and the laws of Newton. arXiv 2010, arXiv:1001.0785.
- Plastino, A.; Rocca, M.C. On the entropic derivation of the r -2 Newtonian gravity force. Physica A 2018, 505, 190–195.
Prof. Angelo Plastino
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- Gravitation
- Entropic measures
- Non-linear mean-field theories
- Black holes
- Verlinde’s conjecture
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