Variational principle and boundary terms in gravity \`a la Palatini

Abstract

A general $f(\mathcal{R})$ gravitational theory is considered within the Palatini formalism. By applying the variational principle and the usual conditions on the boundary, we show explicitly that a surface term remains such that as in their metric-compatible counterparts, an additional surface term has to be added in the gravitational action, which plays a fundamental role when calculating the entropy of the black hole.