On AdS to dS transitions in higher-curvature gravity

Abstract

We study the possible existence of gravitational phase transitions from AdS to dS geometries in the context of higher-curvature gravities. We use Lanczos-Gauss-Bonnet (LGB) theory with a positive cosmological constant as a toy model. This theory has two maximally symmetric vacua with positive (dS) and negative (AdS) constant curvature. We show that a phase transition from the AdS vacuum to a dS black hole geometry takes place when the temperature reaches a critical value. The transition is produced by nucleation of bubbles of the new phase that expand afterwards. We claim that this phenomenon is not particular to the model under study, that contains Boulware-Deser instabilities, but shall also be part of generic gravitational theories with higher-curvature terms, where these problems are absent. A salient feature that emerges when a positive cosmological constant is considered is that the temperature in which these bubbles may form is bounded from above. Thermodynamically this property is related to quite an uncommon feature that this system exhibits, namely, the existence of a zeroth-order phase transition