We present geometric derivations of the Smarr formula for static AdS black holes and an expanded first law that includes variations in the cosmological constant. These two results are further related by a scaling argument based on Euler's theorem. The key new ingredient in the constructions is a two-form potential for the static Killing field. Surface integrals of the Killing potential determine the coefficient of the variation of Λ in the first law. This coefficient is proportional to a finite, effective volume for the region outside the AdS black hole horizon, which can also be interpreted as minus the volume excluded from a spatial slice by the black hole horizon. This effective volume also contributes to the Smarr formula. Since Λ is naturally thought of as a pressure, the new term in the first law has the form of effective volume times change in pressure that arises in the variation of the enthalpy in classical thermodynamics. This and related arguments suggest that the mass of an AdS black hole should be interpreted as the enthalpy of the spacetime. 5 The volume element dS ab is specified in more detail by writing out Gauss' law for A c = ∇ b B bc as Σ dvn c A c = ∂Σ∞ dar b n c B bc − ∂Σ h dar b n c B bc where n a is the unit normal to Σ and r b is the unit normal to ∂Σ within Σ taken to point towards infinity. Therefore, we have for the surface volume element dS bc = 2dar [b n c] . Note that throughout the paper, we will take n a to be future pointing.

We present a new cubic theory of gravity in five dimensions which has second order traced field equations, analogous to BHT new massive gravity in three dimensions. Moreover, for static spherically symmetric spacetimes all the field equations are of second order, and the theory admits a new asymptotically locally flat black hole. Furthermore, we prove the uniqueness of this solution, study its thermodynamical properties, and show the existence of a C-function for the theory following the arguments of Anber and Kastor (arXiv:0802.1290 [hep-th]) in pure Lovelock theories. Finally, we include the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet and cosmological terms and we find new asymptotically AdS black holes at the point where the three maximally symmetric solutions of the theory coincide. These black holes may also possess a Cauchy horizon.

We study properties of static, asymptotically AdS black holes in Lovelock gravity. Our main result is a Smarr formula that gives the mass in terms of geometrical quantities together with the parameters of the Lovelock theory. As in Einstein gravity, the Smarr formula follows from applying the first law to an infinitesimal change in the overall length scale. However, because the Lovelock couplings are dimensionful, we must first prove an extension of the first law that includes their variations. Key ingredients in this construction are the KillingLovelock potentials associated with each of the higher curvature Lovelock interactions. Geometric expressions are obtained for the new thermodynamic potentials conjugate to variation of the Lovelock couplings.

Entanglement entropy in conformal field theories is known to satisfy a first law. For spherical entangling surfaces, this has been shown to follow via the AdS/CFT correspondence and the holographic prescription for entanglement entropy from the bulk first law for Killing horizons. The bulk first law can be extended to include variations in the cosmological constant Λ, which we established in earlier work. Here we show that this implies an extension of the boundary first law to include varying the number of degrees of freedom of the boundary CFT. The thermodynamic potential conjugate to Λ in the bulk is called the thermodynamic volume and has a simple geometric formula. In the boundary first law it plays the role of a chemical potential. For the bulk minimal surface Σ corresponding to a boundary sphere, the thermodynamic volume is found to be proportional to the area of Σ, in agreement with the variation of the known result for entanglement entropy of spheres. The dependence of the CFT chemical potential on the entanglement entropy and number of degrees of freedom is similar to how the thermodynamic chemical potential of an ideal gas depends on entropy and particle number.

We classify all the six derivative Lagrangians of gravity, whose traced field equations are of second or third order, in arbitrary dimensions. In the former case, the Lagrangian in dimensions greater than six, reduces to an arbitrary linear combination of the six dimensional Euler density and the two linearly independent cubic Weyl invariants. In five dimensions, besides the independent cubic Weyl invariant, we obtain an interesting cubic combination, whose field equations for static spherically symmetric spacetimes are of second order. In the later case, in arbitrary dimensions we obtain two combinations, which in dimension three, are equivalent to the complete contraction of two Cotton tensors. Moreover, we also recover all the conformal anomalies in six dimensions. Finally, we present the general static, spherically symmetric solution for some of these Lagrangians.1 Note that the only non-quadratic term with degree of differentiation 4 is R, which is boundary term. 2 Since a divergenceless vector J a cannot be constructed locally out of the curvature, the equation ∇aJ a = 0, with J a := ∇ b −4aR ab + g ab 4a + D 2 b + 2(D − 1)c R , does not have any non-trivial solution.

We investigate some properties of n(≥ 4)-dimensional spacetimes having symmetries corresponding to the isometries of an (n − 2)-dimensional maximally symmetric space in Lovelock gravity under the null or dominant energy condition. The well-posedness of the generalized Misner-Sharp quasi-local mass proposed in the past study is shown. Using this quasi-local mass, we clarify the basic properties of the dynamical black holes defined by a future outer trapping horizon under certain assumptions on the Lovelock coupling constants. The C 2 vacuum solutions are classified into four types: (i) Schwarzschild-Tangherlinitype solution; (ii) Nariai-type solution; (iii) special degenerate vacuum solution; (iv) exceptional vacuum solution. The conditions for the realization of the last two solutions are clarified. The Schwarzschild-Tangherlini-type solution is studied in detail. We prove the first law of black-hole thermodynamics and present the expressions for the heat capacity and the free energy.

There exist well-known no-hair theorems forbidding the existence of hairy black hole solutions in general relativity coupled to a scalar conformal field theory in asymptotically flat space. Even in the presence of cosmological constant, where no-hair theorems can usually be circumvented and black holes with conformal scalar hair were shown to exist in D ≤ 4 dimensions, no-go results were reported for D > 4. In this paper we prove that these obstructions can be evaded and we answer in the affirmative a question that remained open: Whether hairy black holes do exist in general relativity sourced by a conformally coupled scalar field in arbitrary dimensions. We find the analytic black hole solution in arbitrary dimension D > 4, which exhibits a backreacting scalar hair that is regular everywhere outside and on the horizon. The metric asymptotes to (Anti-)de Sitter spacetime at large distance and admits spherical horizon as well as horizon of a different topology. We also find analytic solutions when higher-curvature corrections O(R n ) of arbitrary order n are included in the gravity action.

We present a simple way of constructing conformal couplings of a scalar field to higher order Euler densities. This is done by constructing a four-rank tensor involving the curvature and derivatives of the field, which transforms covariantly under local Weyl rescalings. The equation of motion for the field, as well as its energy momentum tensor are shown to be of second order. The field equations for the spherically symmetric ansatz are integrated, and for generic non-homogeneous couplings, the solution is given in terms of a polynomial equation, in close analogy with Lovelock theories.