Gravitation, Thermodynamics, and the Bound on Viscosity
arXiv:0905.4113 · doi:10.1007/s10714-009-0849-z 10.1142/S0218271809016132
Abstract
The anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence implies that small perturbations of a black hole correspond to small deviations from thermodynamic equilibrium in a dual field theory. For gauge theories with an Einstein gravity dual, the AdS/CFT correspondence predicts a universal value for the ratio of the shear viscosity to the entropy density, . It was conjectured recently that all fluids conform to the lower bound . This {\it conjectured} bound has been the focus of much recent attention. However, despite the flurry of research in this field we still lack a proof for the general validity of the bound. In this essay we show that this mysterious bound is actually a direct outcome of the interplay between gravity, quantum theory, and thermodynamics.
6 pages. This essay received the Third Award in the Annual Essay Competition of the Gravity Research Foundation for the year 2009
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