Black hole entropy as a Noether Charge

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on Thomas Mohaupt's paper "Black hole entropy, special geometry and strings," specifically section 2.2.5, which addresses the definition of entropy as a surface charge using Wald's method. The author seeks clarity on performing variations of the Lagrangian with respect to the Riemann tensor and the metric. Key points include the formulation of the variation of the Lagrangian, the application of Noether's theorem to define a current, and the appropriate use of partial versus covariant derivatives in these calculations. The author also requests recommendations for resources that explain these concepts in detail.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Lagrangian density in the context of general relativity
  • Familiarity with Noether's theorem and its application to field theories
  • Knowledge of Riemann tensor and its role in gravitational theories
  • Proficiency in differentiating between partial and covariant derivatives
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the application of Wald's method in calculating black hole entropy
  • Learn about the derivation and implications of Noether currents in field theory
  • Explore advanced texts on general relativity that cover variations of the Lagrangian
  • Investigate the relationship between Riemann tensor variations and metric variations
USEFUL FOR

The discussion is beneficial for theoretical physicists, particularly those focused on general relativity, black hole thermodynamics, and field theory. It is also relevant for students and researchers seeking to deepen their understanding of entropy in the context of gravitational theories.

haushofer
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Hi folks, I have a question about a paper by Thomas Mohaupt, called
"Black hole entropy, special geometry and strings". It's available here:

http://www.citebase.org/fulltext?format=application%2Fpdf&identifier=oai%3AarXiv.org%3Ahep-th%2F0007195

My question concerns part 2.2.5 , page 18. I find it quite difficult to get a nice feeling for doing calculations like the ones in that part. Here the author defines entropy as a surface charge ( a method due to Wald ). He assumes that the Lagrangian depends on the Riemanntensor, the energy-momentum (E-M) tensor and the derivative of the E-M tensor ( the covariant, I presume? ). He then considers a variation of the E-M tensor and the metric, which I do understand ( they're defined via a general coordinate transformation, so you end up with a Lie-derivative ) So up to that it's okay.

First, I want to do the variation of the Lagrangian with respect to the Riemanntensor, and here I get some troubles. How do I write down such a variation ? It looks like

\delta S = \frac{\partial L }{\partial R_{\mu\nu\rho\sigma} } \delta R_{\mu\nu\rho\sigma}

Here L is the Lagrangian density.
If I want to rewrite this in terms of the variation with respect to the metric, can I use the usual chain rules for differentiation? Or should I do the differentiation explicitly with respect to the metric, and rewrite this in terms of the Riemanntensor?

Then they define a current J. Via Noethers theorem I know that one can define such a current as

J^{\mu} = \frac{\partial L}{\partial \phi ,\mu} \delta \phi

where we sum over all fields phi. So my guess would be that the current which is written down there in section 2.2.5 is acquired via

J^{\mu} = \frac{\partial L}{\partial R_{\nu\lambda\rho\sigma},\mu} \delta R_{\nu\lambda\rho\sigma} + \frac{\partial L}{\partial \psi_{\nu\lambda},\mu} \delta \psi_{\nu\lambda}

Is this going into the right direction? In the variation of the metric and the E-M tensor they use a test function epsilon which is a function of the coordinates, but I don't see it in the current back. That's strange, because you can't divide the function out of the current ( we get derivatices of the test function ). Or can we put those terms to 0? Also I have some doubts about when to use partial derivatives in such calculations, and when to use covariant derivatives. Should I just replace al partial derivatives in such calculations by covariant derivatives?

And does any-one know a good text(book) in which all this is nicely explained? I've been searching on the internet, but without good results. A lot of questions, I hope some-one can help me. Many thanks in forward,

Haushofer.
 
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