Effective Pressure of the FRW Universe

Abstract

In this paper, we study the effective pressure of the $N$-dimensional FRW(Friedmann-Robertson-Walker) universe in Einstein gravity, Gauss-Bonnet gravity, and Lovelock gravity. The effective pressure is defined by $P_{eff}:=-d E/d V$, where $E=\rho V$ is the effective energy and $V$ is the volume of the FRW universe inside the apparent horizon. The effective pressure in Einstein gravity is always negative and its absolute value decreases with the horizon radius $R_A$. The effective pressure in Gauss-Bonnet gravity is different with the one in Einstein gravity only when $N\geq6$. In this case, if $\alpha>0$, the effective pressure is always negative, but if $\alpha<0$, it is not always negative and has a minimum. The effective pressure in Lovelock gravity can have multiple zero-points and extreme points. The effective pressure in different dimensions has interesting relations. We also find that under certain condition, the effective pressure is equivalent with the `ordinary' pressure $p$ of the perfect fluid, and this condition do not depend on the specific choice of gravitational theories.