Lanczos-Lovelock models of gravity

TL;DR

Lanczos-Lovelock gravity models extend Einstein's theory to higher dimensions with second-order field equations, offering a promising framework for exploring emergent gravity and its geometrical and thermodynamical properties.

Contribution

This review summarizes recent developments in the geometrical and thermodynamical aspects of Lanczos-Lovelock gravity models, emphasizing their role as natural higher-dimensional generalizations of Einstein's theory.

Findings

Shared key properties with Einstein's gravity

Second-order field equations despite higher curvature terms

Relevance for testing emergent gravity paradigms

Abstract

Lanczos-Lovelock models of gravity represent a natural and elegant generalization of Einstein's theory of gravity to higher dimensions. They are characterized by the fact that the field equations only contain up to second derivatives of the metric even though the action functional can be a quadratic or higher degree polynomial in the curvature tensor. Because these models share several key properties of Einstein's theory they serve as a useful set of candidate models for testing the emergent paradigm for gravity. This review highlights several geometrical and thermodynamical aspects of Lanczos-Lovelock models which have attracted recent attention.