We attempt to clarify several aspects concerning the recently presented four-dimensional Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity. We argue that the limiting procedure outlined in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 081301 (2020)] generally involves ill-defined terms in the four dimensional field equations. Potential ways to circumvent this issue are discussed, alongside remarks regarding specific solutions of the theory. We prove that, although linear perturbations are well behaved around maximally symmetric backgrounds, the equations for second-order perturbations are ill-defined even around a Minkowskian background. Additionally, we perform a detailed analysis of the spherically symmetric solutions and find that the central curvature singularity can be reached within a finite proper time.

We investigate the effects of vacuum polarization on vacuum static sphericallysymmetric spacetimes. We start from the Polyakov approximation to the renormalized stress-energy tensor (RSET) of a minimally coupled massless scalar field. This RSET is not regular at r = 0, so we define a regularized version of the Polyakov RSET. Using this Regularized RSET, and under the previous symmetry assumptions, we find all the solutions to the semiclassical field equations in vacuum. The resulting counterpart to the Schwarzschild classical geometry substitutes the presence of an event horizon by a wormhole throat that connects an external asymptotically flat region with an internal asymptotic region possessing a naked singularity: there are no semiclassical vacuum solutions with well-defined Cauchy surfaces. We also show that the Regularized Polyakov RSET allows for wormhole geometries of arbitrarily small throat radius. This analysis paves the way to future investigations of proper stellar configurations with an internal non-vacuum region.

In this Comment, we elaborate on several points raised in Ref. [1]. The authors claimed to have found a fourdimensional gravitational theory which fulfills the assumptions of the Lovelock theorem [2] though not its implications. To that end, they employed a regularization procedure already outlined in Ref. [3]. This procedure consists of rescaling the coupling constant of the Gauss-Bonnet (GB) term by 1=ðD − 4Þ and taking the D → 4 limit after varying the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet (EGB) action. The authors of Ref. [1] claim that the variation of the GB term is proportional to (D − 4), canceling the 1=ðD − 4Þ factor and hence yielding a nonvanishing contribution to the field equations in D ¼ 4. This claim does not stand a thorough analysis given that the variation of the kth order Lovelock Lagrangian can be decomposed as [4,5]

We provide an exhaustive analysis of the complete set of solutions of the equations of stellar equilibrium under semiclassical effects. As classical matter we use a perfect fluid of constant density; as the semiclassical source we use the renormalized stress-energy tensor (RSET) of a minimally coupled massless scalar field in the Boulware vacuum (the only vacuum consistent with asymptotic flatness and staticity). For the RSET we use a regularized version of the Polyakov approximation. We present a complete catalogue of the semiclassical self-consistent solutions which incorporates regular as well as singular solutions, showing that the semiclassical corrections are highly relevant in scenarios of high compactness. Semiclassical corrections allow the existence of ultracompact equilibrium configurations which have bounded pressures and masses up to a central core of Planckian radius, precisely where the regularized Polyakov approximation is not accurate. Our analysis strongly suggests the absence of a Buchdahl limit in semiclasical gravity, while indicating that the regularized Polyakov approximation used here must be improved to describe equilibrium configurations of arbitrary compactness that remain regular at the center of spherical symmetry.

We derive a master equation for the reduced density matrix of a uniformly accelerating quantum detector in arbitrary dimensions, generically coupled to a field initially in its vacuum state, and analyze its late time regime. We find that such density matrix asymptotically reaches a Gibbs state. The particularities of its evolution towards this state are encoded in the response function, which depends on the dimension, the properties of the fields, and the specific coupling to them. We also compare this situation with the thermalization of a static detector immersed in a thermal field state, pinpointing the differences between both scenarios. In particular, we analyze the role of the response function and its effect on the evolution of the detector towards equilibrium. Furthermore, we explore the consequences of the well-known statistics inversion of the response function of an Unruh-DeWitt detector linearly coupled to a free scalar field in odd spacetime dimensions. This allows us to specify in which sense accelerated detectors in Minkowski vacuum behave as static detectors in a thermal bath and in which sense they do not.