GREA and Dark Energy: A holographic dual

TL;DR

This work reexamines the cosmological constant problem through General Relativistic Entropic Acceleration (GREA), proposing a holographic dual where bulk vacuum energy is encoded in boundary de Sitter thermodynamics. By replacing the bulk $\Lambda$ term with a Hawking-Gibbons boundary contribution, the authors show that the boundary quantity $T_H S_H$ reproduces the same acceleration as $\Lambda$, linking $\Lambda = \kappa \rho_V$ to horizon thermodynamics via $T_H S_H = \frac{4\pi}{\kappa H} = \frac{4\pi}{\kappa}\sqrt{\frac{3}{\Lambda}}$. The framework extends to a moving boundary when matter and radiation are present, yielding a time-dependent entropic acceleration that can drive current cosmic acceleration without a fixed $\Lambda$ and predicts different late-time fates (Minkowski if $\Lambda=0$, de Sitter if $\Lambda>0$). Overall, the paper provides a holographic reinterpretation of dark energy, tying quantum vacuum energy to boundary degrees of freedom and horizon thermodynamics, with testable implications for the time evolution of cosmic acceleration.

Abstract

The nature of the cosmological constant is a mystery. We don't understand its quantum origin but we associate it with the actual acceleration of the universe because it is the simplest description we had until recently of the present cosmological observations. However, this may change with the next generation of experiments. If we can convince ourselves that the cosmic acceleration is not due to a constant, this would open up new fascinating avenues. By exploring the simplest cosmological model in the bulk, that of an empty and flat space with a cosmological constant $Λ$, we find that its holographic dual makes sense as a theory of fundamental quantum degrees of freedom at the boundary. Moreover, we find that an observer in the bulk, making long-range (electromagnetic and gravitational) observations, cannot distinguish the acceleration induced by the cosmological constant $Λ$ from that induced by the thermodynamic properties of the boundary, the de Sitter horizon. By including matter in the bulk we extend this holographic principle to GREA, where the quantum d.o.f. associated with the evolving boundary of the causal horizon induces an entropic acceleration that varies in time. Future observations will determine whether our causal horizon is responsible for the present acceleration and whether our universe will end in de Sitter or Minkowski.

Figures (1)

• Figure 1: The asymptotic de Sitter horizon (red) and the evolving FLRW horizon (blue) in the presence of matter and radiation. Also shown are the quantum field modes with largest wavelengths that fit inside the horizon. In the absence of a cosmological constant, the asymptotic space-time is empty and flat Minkowski.