Black hole thermodynamics: Beyond general relativity

The striking similarity of the laws of black hole mechanics with thermodynamics was first established in the case of general relativity (GR). But the Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian of general relativity is only the lowest order term in a derivative expansion of generally covariant actions for a metric theory, and the presence of higher derivative terms seems inevitable. Then, it is interesting to explore whether this thermodynamic analogy is a peculiar property of GR or a robust feature of any generally covariant theory of gravity. In this talk, the speaker will explore the validity of the laws of black hole mechanics beyond general relativity, in particular possible generalization of Hawking's area theorem.