We discuss the no-ghost theorem in the massive gravity in a covariant manner. Using the BRST formalism and St{u}ckelberg fields, we first clarify how the Boulware-Deser ghost decouples in the massive gravity theory with Fierz-Pauli mass term. Here we
find that the crucial point in the proof is that there is no higher (time) derivative for the St{u}ckelberg `scalar field. We then analyze the nonlinear massive gravity proposed by de Rham, Gabadadze and Tolley, and show that there is no ghost for general admissible backgrounds. In this process, we find a very nontrivial decoupling limit for general backgrounds. We end the paper by demonstrating the general results explicitly in a nontrivial example where there apparently appear higher time derivatives for St{u}ckelberg scalar field, but show that this does not introduce the ghost into the theory.
In a recent paper [arXiv:1001.0785], Verlinde has shown that the Newton gravity appears as an entropy force. In this paper we show how gravity appears as entropy force in Einsteins equation of gravitational field in a general spherically symmetric sp
acetime. We mainly focus on the trapping horizon of the spacetime. We find that when matter fields are absent, the change of entropy associated with the trapping horizon indeed can be identified with an entropy force. When matter fields are present, we see that heat flux of matter fields also leads to the change of entropy. Applying arguments made by Verlinde and Smolin, respectively, to the trapping horizon, we find that the entropy force is given by the surface gravity of the horizon. The cases in the untrapped region of the spacetime are also discussed.
In this note by use of the holographic principle together with the equipartition law of energy and the Unruh temperature, we derive the Friedmann equations of a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe.
We present a class of exact analytic and static, spherically symmetric black hole solutions in the semi-classical Einstein equations with Weyl anomaly. The solutions have two branches, one is asymptotically flat and the other asymptotically de Sitter
. We study thermodynamic properties of the black hole solutions and find that there exists a logarithmic correction to the well-known Bekenstein-Hawking area entropy. The logarithmic term might come from non-local terms in the effective action of gravity theories. The appearance of the logarithmic term in the gravity side is quite important in the sense that with this term one is able to compare black hole entropy up to the subleading order, in the gravity side and in the microscopic statistical interpretation side.
We present a class of new black hole solutions in $D$-dimensional Lovelock gravity theory. The solutions have a form of direct product $mathcal{M}^m times mathcal{H}^{n}$, where $D=m+n$, $mathcal{H}^n$ is a negative constant curvature space, and are
characterized by two integration constants. When $m=3$ and 4, these solutions reduce to the exact black hole solutions recently found by Maeda and Dadhich in Gauss-Bonnet gravity theory. We study thermodynamics of these black hole solutions. Although these black holes have a nonvanishing Hawking temperature, surprisingly, the mass of these solutions always vanishes. While the entropy also vanishes when $m$ is odd, it is a constant determined by Euler characteristic of $(m-2)$-dimensional cross section of black hole horizon when $m$ is even. We argue that the constant in the entropy should be thrown away. Namely, when $m$ is even, the entropy of these black holes also should vanish. We discuss the implications of these results.
We explore the relationship between the first law of thermodynamics and gravitational field equation at a static, spherically symmetric black hole horizon in Hov{r}ava-Lifshtiz theory with/without detailed balance. It turns out that as in the cases o
f Einstein gravity and Lovelock gravity, the gravitational field equation can be cast to a form of the first law of thermodynamics at the black hole horizon. This way we obtain the expressions for entropy and mass in terms of black hole horizon, consistent with those from other approaches. We also define a generalized Misner-Sharp energy for static, spherically symmetric spacetimes in Hov{r}ava-Lifshtiz theory. The generalized Misner-Sharp energy is conserved in the case without matter field, and its variation gives the first law of black hole thermodynamics at black hole horizon.
We calculate the shear viscosity of field theories with gravity duals of Gauss-Bonnet gravity with a non-trivial dilaton using AdS/CFT. We find that the dilaton filed has a non-trivial contribution to the ratio of shear viscosity over entropy density
and after imposing causal constraint for the boundary field theory, the new lower bound $4/25pi$, obtained from pure Gauss-Bonnet gravity, may have a small violation.
