The cosmological constant and the black hole equation of state

Abstract

The thermodynamics of black holes in various dimensions are described in the presence of a negative cosmological constant which is treated as a thermodynamic variable, interpreted as a pressure in the equation of state. The black hole mass is then identified with the enthalpy, rather than the internal energy, and heat capacities are calculated at constant pressure not at constant volume. The Euclidean action is associated with a bridge equation for the Gibbs free energy and not the Helmholtz free energy. Quantum corrections to the enthalpy and the equation of state of the BTZ black hole are studied.