Dark Energy, Black Hole Entropy, and the First Precision Measurement in Quantum Gravity

TL;DR

This paper suggests that quantum gravitational corrections to black hole entropy could be linked to dark energy, proposing that cosmic acceleration observations might serve as the first precision measurement of quantum gravity effects.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical connection between dark energy and quantum gravity via black hole entropy corrections, proposing a novel way to measure quantum gravity.

Findings

Quantum gravitational corrections induce a pressure similar to dark energy.

Late-time cosmic acceleration may provide a measurement of black hole entropy.

The correction is assumed to be linear in horizon temperature.

Abstract

The two apparently distinct phenomena of dark energy (or late-time cosmic acceleration) and quantum gravity dominate physics on extremely low, and extremely high energies, but do not seem to have any apparent empirical connection. Nevertheless, the two have a theoretical connection, through the cosmological constant problem. I argue that the finite temperature quantum gravitational corrections to black hole entropy yields a pressure for the gravitational vacuum (or gravitational aether). Assuming that the relative corrections are linear in horizon temperature (i.e. are suppressed by one power of Planck energy), the pressure is comparable to that of dark energy for astrophysical black holes. This implies that the observation of late-time cosmic acceleration may have provided us with the first precision measurement of quantum gravity, i.e. that of black hole entropy.