$Λ$-Gravity from Entropy

Abstract

The Gravity from Entropy (GfE) theory treats the metric of spacetime as quantum operators and proposes the GfE action for gravity. The GfE Lagrangian is given by the Geometric Quantum Relative Entropy (GQRE) between the true metric and the metric induced by the matter fields and curvature. The theory leads to modified gravity equations and predicts the emergence of a dynamical cosmological constant $Λ_{\mathcal{G}}$. In the low energy, small curvature limit the GfE gravity equations reduce to Einstein equations with vanishing cosmological constant, i.e. in the weak field linear approximation $Λ_{\mathcal{G}}$ vanishes. In this work, we propose a generalisation of the GfE theory, called $Λ$-Gravity from Entropy ($Λ$GfE). Following a thermodynamic approach, we introduce a Lagrange multiplier $Λ$ to define the local volume of the theory. By enforcing local Weyl stationarity of the $Λ$GfE action modulo the volume constraint of the theory, we derive the equation for $Λ$. The $Λ$GfE equations of motion include two dark energy contributions: the emergent and dynamical contribution given by $Λ_{\mathcal{G}}$ plus a constant contribution given by $Λ$ where $Λ$ can be identified with the cosmological constant in the low energy small curvature limit. While this theory cannot predict the exact value of $Λ$, here it is shown that the vacuum contributions to the dressed stress-energy tensor cancel from the trace-free equations of motion of the $Λ$GfE theory. Within the GfE framework, the $Λ$GfE also offers a novel interpretation of the dark energy terms, with potentially testable consequences for cosmological observations.