Thermodynamics of Spherically Symmetric Spacetimes in Loop Quantum Gravity

TL;DR

This paper explores the thermodynamics of spherically symmetric spacetimes in loop quantum gravity using Krasnov's area operator, showing that horizons emit thermal radiation and have entropy proportional to their area, and explaining the cosmological constant.

Contribution

It introduces the use of Krasnov's area operator in loop quantum gravity to analyze horizon thermodynamics and cosmological constant implications.

Findings

Horizons emit thermal radiation with entropy proportional to quarter of their area.

The approach explains the smallness of the cosmological constant.

Supports the universality of horizon thermodynamics in loop quantum gravity.

Abstract

The choice of the area operator in loop quantum gravity is by no means unique. In addition to the area operator commonly used in loop quantum gravity there is also an area operator introduced by Krasnov in 1998, which gives uniformly spaced area spectra for the horizons of spacetime. Using Krasnov's area operator we consider the thermodynamics of spherically symmetric spacetimes equipped with horizons in loop quantum gravity. Among other things, our approach implies, in a pretty simple manner, that every horizon of spacetime emits thermal radiation and possesses emtropy which, in the natural units, is one-quarter of its area. When applied to the de Sitter spacetime loop quantum gravity provides an explanation both to the presence and the smallness of the cosmological constant.