Quantum thermodynamics of de Sitter space

Autor: Alicki, Robert, Barenboim, Gabriela, Jenkins, Alejandro
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Phys. Rev. D 108, 123530 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: Working Paper
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.108.123530
Popis: We consider the local physics of an open quantum system embedded in an expanding three-dimensional space $\mathbf x$, evolving in cosmological time $t$, weakly coupled to a massless quantum field. We derive the corresponding Markovian master equation for the system's nonunitary evolution and show that, for a de Sitter space with Hubble parameter $h = $ const., the background fields act as a physical heat bath with temperature $T_{\rm dS} = h / 2 \pi$. The energy density of this bath obeys the Stefan-Boltzmann law $\rho_{\rm dS} \propto h^4$. We comment on how these results clarify the thermodynamics of de Sitter space and support previous arguments for its instability in the infrared. The cosmological implications are considered in an accompanying letter.
Comment: 14 pages + Appendix (3 pages). v3: added discussion of relation to other approaches to thermal physics in dS, references improved, typos fixed. To appear in PRD
Databáze: arXiv