New type of phase transition in gravitational theories

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel phase transition in gravitational theories involving higher-curvature corrections, characterized by bubble nucleation in AdS space that alters the cosmological constant at high temperatures.

Contribution

It proposes a new type of phase transition mediated by bubble nucleation in AdS space with higher-curvature terms, extending the Hawking-Page transition concept.

Findings

Phase transition occurs above a critical temperature.

The transition involves a bubble with an interior black hole.

The cosmological constant value changes after the transition.

Abstract

We set forth a new type of phase transition that might take place in gravitational theories whenever higher-curvature corrections are considered. It can be regarded as a sophisticated version of the Hawking-Page transition, mediated by the nucleation of a bubble in anti-de Sitter (AdS) space. The bubble hosts a black hole in its interior, and separates two spacetime regions with different effective cosmological constants. We compute the free energy of this configuration and compare it with that of thermal AdS. The result suggests that a phase transition actually occurs above certain critical temperature, ultimately changing the value of the cosmological constant. We discuss the consistency of the thermodynamic picture and its possible relevance in the context of AdS/CFT.