Black hole thermodynamics and topology

TL;DR

This paper explores how topological invariants like the Euler characteristic relate to black hole thermodynamics, extending previous work to Reissner-Nordström black holes with multiple horizons and showing entropy independence from charge.

Contribution

It applies the topological approach to multi-horizon black holes, demonstrating that their entropy depends only on mass, not electric charge, and extends previous topological thermodynamics insights.

Findings

Topological invariants determine horizon temperatures.

Black hole entropy is independent of electric charge.

The approach is applicable to multi-horizon systems.

Abstract

Recently the difference between the Gibbons-Hawking temperature $T_{\rm GH}$ attributed to the Hawking radiation from the de Sitter cosmological horizon and the twice as high local temperature of the de Sitter state, $T=H/\pi=2T_{\rm GH}$, has been discussed by Hughes and Kusmartsev from the topological point of view (see arXiv:2505.05814). According to their approach, this difference is determined by the Euler characteristic $\chi({\cal M})$ of the considered spacetime with Euclidean time. The invariant $\chi({\cal M})$ is different for the global spacetime ${\cal M}=S^4$ and for the manifold limited to a region near the horizon, ${\cal M}=D^2\times S^2$. Here we consider the application of the topological approach to Reissner-Nordstr\"om (RN) black holes with two horizons. Both the outer and inner horizons are characterized by their near-horizon topology, which determines the corresponding horizon temperatures. As a result of the correlation between the horizons, the entropy of the RN black hole is independent of its electric charge, being completely determined by the mass of the black hole. This demonstrates the applicability of the topological approach to the multi-horizon systems.