Local vs. global temperature under a positive curvature condition

Abstract

For a massless free scalar field in a globally hyperbolic space-time we compare the global temperature T, defined for the KMS states $\omega^T$, with the local temperature $T_{\omega}(x)$ introduced by Buchholz and Schlemmer. We prove the following claims: (1) Whenever $T_{\omega^T}(x)$ is defined, it is a continuous, monotonically increasing function of T at every point x. (2) $T_{\omega}(x)$ is defined when the space-time is ultra-static with compact Cauchy surface and non-trivial scalar curvature $R\ge 0$, $\omega$ is stationary and a few other assumptions are satisfied. Our proof of (2) relies on the positive mass theorem. We discuss the necessity of its assumptions, providing counter-examples in an ultra-static space-time with non-compact Cauchy surface and R<0 somewhere. We interpret the result in terms of a violation of the weak energy condition in the background space-time.