A Covariant Phase Space Approach to Einstein-AEther Gravity

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Arata, Walter, Liberati, Stefano, Neri, Giulio
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Arata, Walter
Liberati, Stefano
Neri, Giulio
author_facet Arata, Walter
Liberati, Stefano
Neri, Giulio
contents Black hole thermodynamics in Lorentz-violating gravity is subtle because different excitations propagate at different speeds and hence identify different causal horizons. We revisit Einstein--AEther gravity using the covariant phase space formalism with boundaries and derive a consistent first law for stationary black holes. For a mode of propagation speed $c_s$, we introduce a disformal frame in which the corresponding causal horizon is a Killing horizon, so that the standard Wald-type derivation can be carried out. The result is then mapped back to the original frame, where it mantains the same structure. The associated horizon charge contains, besides the usual Komar term, an irreducible entropic AEther contribution that can be interpreted as heat due to the AEther flux across the horizon; accordingly, the total entropy splits into a gravitational part and an AEther part. We further develop an extended-thermodynamics framework in which the couplings of the theory are allowed to vary, obtaining generalized Smarr relations. Finally, we analyze the probe-mode limit $c_s \to +\infty$, clarifying its connection to universal-horizon thermodynamics and resolving the apparent tension in the literature between approaches that (i) fix the entropy to be proportional to the area and infer a corresponding temperature, and (ii) impose the Hawking temperature associated with modes peeling from the universal horizon and infer the entropy. Once the independent AEther contribution is properly taken into account, the two prescriptions are reconciled.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_28851
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Covariant Phase Space Approach to Einstein-AEther Gravity
Arata, Walter
Liberati, Stefano
Neri, Giulio
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
Mathematical Physics
Black hole thermodynamics in Lorentz-violating gravity is subtle because different excitations propagate at different speeds and hence identify different causal horizons. We revisit Einstein--AEther gravity using the covariant phase space formalism with boundaries and derive a consistent first law for stationary black holes. For a mode of propagation speed $c_s$, we introduce a disformal frame in which the corresponding causal horizon is a Killing horizon, so that the standard Wald-type derivation can be carried out. The result is then mapped back to the original frame, where it mantains the same structure. The associated horizon charge contains, besides the usual Komar term, an irreducible entropic AEther contribution that can be interpreted as heat due to the AEther flux across the horizon; accordingly, the total entropy splits into a gravitational part and an AEther part. We further develop an extended-thermodynamics framework in which the couplings of the theory are allowed to vary, obtaining generalized Smarr relations. Finally, we analyze the probe-mode limit $c_s \to +\infty$, clarifying its connection to universal-horizon thermodynamics and resolving the apparent tension in the literature between approaches that (i) fix the entropy to be proportional to the area and infer a corresponding temperature, and (ii) impose the Hawking temperature associated with modes peeling from the universal horizon and infer the entropy. Once the independent AEther contribution is properly taken into account, the two prescriptions are reconciled.
title A Covariant Phase Space Approach to Einstein-AEther Gravity
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
Mathematical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.28851