Thermodynamics of Moving Bodies or a New Approach to Emergent Gravity

Abstract

Recent theoretical developments propose that gravity is emergent phenomenon. In line with this, in this paper, we show that gravitational and inertial properties of matter can be sufficiently explained by thermodynamics for a system consisting of material systems immersed in the quantum vacuum energy reservoir without reference to the microscopic constituencies of the quantum vacuum. The study focuses on the transfer of energy and matter in the interaction of material system with its vacuum surroundings and the relation of those to the system's macroscopic state variables and mechanical behavior of the system associated with forces acting on it. This analysis suggests that vacuum energy density about material systems is diminished and quantum vacuum energy density field takes on specific gradient there. Hence, gravity appears as effect of the change in the energy density of medium related with presence of another material object modifying vacuum surroundings and causing spontaneous motion of the system to minimize its energy driven by the second law. Whereas, inertia is explained to be an emergent thermodynamic effect of the change in the vacuum energy field about objects associated with the alteration of energy of systems itself due to the transfer of energy between systems to its surroundings. When those energy transfer operations do not comply with the second law of thermodynamic in terms of direction and rate of the energy flow, there will be generated resistance to the imposed changes known as inertial force. In such representation the equivalence principle finds unique definition revealing its origin.