Near horizon limit and Hawking Temperature of the horizon

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the relationship between the Hawking temperature of an event horizon and the periodicity of Euclidean time. Participants explain that the Hawking temperature can be derived by taking the near-horizon limit of the black hole (BH) metric and performing a Wick rotation on the time coordinate. This process leads to the identification of the thermal density matrix in finite temperature quantum field theory (QFT) with the reduced density matrix from the gravitational path integral in Rindler space. Key references include the Hartman course series and the arXiv paper on Rindler path integrals.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of black hole (BH) metrics
  • Familiarity with Wick rotation in quantum field theory
  • Knowledge of thermal density matrices in finite temperature QFT
  • Basic concepts of gravitational path integrals
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the near-horizon limit of the Schwarzschild metric
  • Explore the concept of gravitational instantons
  • Review the Rindler path integral case in detail
  • Examine the relationship between Euclidean time periodicity and temperature in QFT
USEFUL FOR

The discussion is beneficial for theoretical physicists, cosmologists, and advanced students in quantum field theory and general relativity, particularly those interested in black hole thermodynamics and gravitational path integrals.

ShayanJ
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One way that people introduce the Hawking temperature of an event horizon, is by taking the near-horizon limit of the BH metric and then do a Wick rotation of the time coordinate. Then, the regularity of the metric requires that the Euclidean time to be periodic. But how can this give us the temperature of the horizon? What's the relation between the periodicity of the Euclidean time and temperature?

Thanks
 
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See note 3 and the path integral sections in the following course series:
http://www.hartmanhep.net/topics2015/

Alternatively, the full reasoning is given in this lecture (try to understand the Rindler path integral case first)
https://arxiv.org/abs/1409.1231

It is a peculiar but deep fact of gravity that an identification can be made between the thermal density matrix of finite temperature QFT and the reduced density matrix arrived from a computation of the gravitational path integral of gravity in Rindler space when you trace over the Rindler wedges.
 
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ShayanJ said:
One way that people introduce the Hawking temperature of an event horizon, is by taking the near-horizon limit of the BH metric and then do a Wick rotation of the time coordinate.

By the way, you don't have to take the near-horizon limit first! It's just often easier that way.
 
Ben Niehoff said:
By the way, you don't have to take the near-horizon limit first! It's just often easier that way.
Could you give a reference where it is done that way at some detail?
 
ShayanJ said:
Could you give a reference where it is done that way at some detail?

Try it with Schwarzschild, it shouldn't be hard. Also try looking up "gravitational instantons".
 
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Ben Niehoff said:
Try it with Schwarzschild, it shouldn't be hard. Also try looking up "gravitational instantons".
Looks like the transformation that takes ## ds^2=\frac{dr^2}{1-\frac{2m}r}+(1-\frac{2m}r)dt_E^2 ## to ## ds^2=d\rho^2+\rho^2 dT_E^2 ## is:
## \left\{ \begin{array}{c}\rho=r \sqrt{1-\frac{2m}r}-m\ln\left( \frac{\sqrt{1-\frac{2m}r}-1}{\sqrt{1-\frac{2m}r}+1} \right) \\ \rho T_E=\sqrt{1-\frac{2m}r}t_E\end{array}\right. ##
 

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