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# Pulsation of the 𝛿 Scuti star 𝜃² Tau: New multisite photometry and modelling of instability

## 1 Introduction

A number of lengthy observing campaigns covering individual $`\delta `$ Scuti variables have shown that the majority of these pulsating variables on and near the main sequence pulsate with a large number of simultaneously excited nonradial p modes. Furthermore, long-term variability of the pulsation amplitudes of these nonradial modes with a time scale of years has been discovered for many, but not all of these nonradial pulsators. The Delta Scuti Network, hereafter called DSN, specializes in multisite observations of these stars. The network is a collaboration of astronomers located at observatories spaced around the globe in order to avoid regular, daily observing gaps. So far, 21 campaigns have been carried out. The most recent campaign covered BI CMi, for which 29 frequencies of pulsation derived from 1024 hours (177 nights) of photometry were discovered (Breger et al. 2002).

The variability of the star $`\theta ^2`$ Tau was discovered by Horan (1977, 1979) and confirmed by Duerbeck (1978). In order to study the multiple frequencies, the Delta Scuti Network undertook two campaigns (Breger et al. 1987, 1989: the latter is referred to as Paper I). The data could be supplemented by additional measurements by Kovacs & Paparo (1989). Five frequencies of pulsation were detected and interpreted to be due to nonradial pulsation. The size and distribution of the frequencies suggested p modes with values of $`\mathrm{}`$ = 0 to 2. A mode with a higher $`\mathrm{}`$ value was also detected spectroscopically by Kennelly & Walker (1996). Since the original analysis of the photometric data, new theoretical as well as experimentally determined (Breger et al. 1993) statistical criteria for the acceptance or rejection of additional modes extracted from multisite photometric data have become available. A re-examination of the previous data obtained in the years 1982 to 1986 (Breger 2002, hereafter referred to as Paper II) led to the discovery of ten frequencies in the 1986 DSN data. Nine of these frequencies are also present in the list of twelve frequencies determined during a remarkable study of $`\theta ^2`$ Tau from space (Poretti et al. 2002, hereafter referred to as Paper III): during 2000 August, $`\theta ^2`$ Tau was monitored extensively with the star tracker camera on the Wide-Field Infrared Explorer satellite (WIRE).

$`\theta ^2`$ Tau is a 140.728d binary system with known orbital elements (Ebbighausen 1959, Torres, Stefanik & Latham 1997). The two components have similar temperatures. The primary component is evolved (A7III), while the secondary is fainter by 1.10 mag (Peterson, Stefanik & Latham 1993) and still on the main sequence. Both stars are situated inside the instability strip. It was shown in Paper I that the dominant pulsation modes originate in the primary component because the predicted orbital light-time effects for the primary match the observed shifts in the light curves of up to several minutes. This confirms an expectation from the values of the frequencies (10 – 15 cd-1), which are incompatible with those of main-sequence $`\delta `$ Scuti stars.

## 2 New ground-based measurements

In order to eliminate the serious aliasing caused by regular observing gaps, a multisite campaign was organized utilizing the Delta Scuti Network (DSN campaign 12). During 1994 November and December, $`\theta ^2`$ Tau was measured photometrically with the Three-Star-Technique (Breger 1993) at a number of observatories spaced around the globe. Weather conditions, unfortunately, were unfavorable so that data from a number of Asian Observatories were not accurate enough to be included in the present analysis. 152 hours of photometry at four other observatories could be used. These observatories were:

(i) Lowell: The photoelectric photometer attached to the 0.8m reflector at Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, USA, was used with the Strömgren $`v`$ and $`y`$ filters together with a neutral density filter. The observer was W. Zima.

(ii) McDonald Observatory: The 0.9m telescope was used with the $`y`$ filter. The observer was G. Handler.

(iii) Sierra Nevada Observatory: The 0.9m telescope was used together with $`v`$ and $`y`$ filters. The observers were R. Garrido and F. Beichbuchner.

(iv) The 0.6m reflector at the XingLong station of Beijing Astronomical Observatory, China, was used for 9 nights with the $`V`$ filter. The observers were Li Zhiping, Zhou Aiying, and Yang Dawei. More details can be found in Li et al. (1997a), where the Chinese data have already been published, and Li et al. (1997b). We have adopted the Chinese data as published except for the slight editing of a few (obviously) deviant points.

A journal of the photoelectric measurements used is given in Table 1.

All observatories used the same two comparison stars as during the previous DSN campaigns of $`\theta ^2`$ Tau, viz., HR 1422 and HR 1428. No evidence for any variability of these comparison stars was found. We could combine the $`V`$ and $`y`$ data, because the $`y`$ magnitudes are defined to be equal to the $`V`$ magnitudes. After the standard photometric reductions relative to the two comparison stars, the data from the different observatories needed to be combined. For the initial multifrequency analyses, this was done by subtracting the average relative magnitude of $`\theta ^2`$ Tau at each observatory and then combining the data. Since the multifrequency analyses utilized the fitting of sine curves to the data, the zero-points could then be further adjusted from the values of zero-point of these fits. The times of observation were converted to Heliocentric Julian Date (HJD). We also calculated the light time corrections for the orbital motion of the primary stellar component (see Fig. 6 of Paper I). During this short campaign of 25d, the light time correction is very small and practically constant. Therefore, we have not applied such a correction to the present data. The extinction coefficients were derived separately for each night by using the two comparison stars. For a few short data sets, average extinction coefficients had to be applied.

Figures 1 and 2 show the observed light variations of $`\theta ^2`$ Tau together with the 13-frequency fit derived in later sections. The new data will be made available in the Communications in Asteroseismology.

## 3 Methods used to determine multiple frequencies from the light curves

The pulsation frequency analyses were performed with a package of computer programs with single-frequency and multiple-frequency techniques (PERIOD98, Sperl 1998). These programs utilize Fourier as well as multiple-least-squares algorithms. The latter technique fits a number of simultaneous sinusoidal variations to the observed light variability and does not rely on prewhitening. For the purposes of presentation and initial searches, however, prewhitening is required if the low-amplitude modes are to be seen. Therefore, in the presentation of the results (see below), the various power spectra are presented as a series of panels, each with additional frequencies removed relative to the panel above.

Two observatories also provided measurements in a second filter, viz., the Strömgren $`v`$ filter. In this filter, the amplitudes of $`\theta ^2`$ Tau are higher by about 30% relative those in the $`y`$ filter. In power spectra, the location of the peaks in frequency are not affected by mixing data with different amplitudes. Consequently, for the power spectra we have used the data from all filters. The slight phase shift up to 10$`\mathrm{°}`$ in the light curves of $`\delta `$ Scuti stars between the different filters was ignored, since numerical simulations show that for $`\delta `$ Scuti stars the power spectra are not affected by such small shifts.

However, for prewhitening, the data from the two filters had to be treated separately. The multiperiodic fitting of sinusoids to the data relies on the minimization of the residuals between the fit and the observations and requires correct amplitudes. This problem was solved by computing separate solutions for the two colors, which could then be prewhitened.

One of the most important questions in the examination of multiperiodicity concerns the decision as to which of the detected peaks in the power spectrum can be regarded as variability intrinsic to the star. Due to the presence of nonrandom errors in photometric observations and because of observing gaps, the predictions of standard statistical false-alarm tests give answers which are considered by us to be overly optimistic. In a previous paper (Breger et al. 1993) we have argued that a ratio of amplitude signal/noise = 4.0 provides a useful criterion for judging the reality of a peak. This corresponds to a power signal/noise ratio of 12.6. Subsequent analyses comparing independent data sets have confirmed that this criterion is an excellent predictor of intrinsic vs. possible noise peaks, as long as it is not applied to very small data sets or at low frequencies, where the errors of measurement are far from random. In the present study, the noise was calculated by averaging the amplitudes (oversampled by a factor of 20) over 5 cd-1 regions centered around the frequency under consideration.

## 4 The main pulsation frequencies of $`\theta ^2`$ Tau during 1994

The spectral window of the 1994 data (Fig. 3) is quite clean because the data were collected on three continents, thereby avoiding serious regular day-time observing gaps. Nevertheless, the 1 cd-1 aliasing should still be kept in mind, since modes with very small amplitudes might hide in the alias peaks.

The power spectrum of $`\theta ^2`$ Tau was computed from frequency values of zero to the Nyquist frequency. The highest power levels were found in the 10 to 16 cd-1 region. An additional band of power was found in the 26 to 30 cd-1 region and will be examined in a later section. The power spectra in the 8 to 16 cd-1 region are presented in Fig. 3. The second panel from the top shows the dominant three frequencies, which have been found in all other photometric campaigns as well. The next panel shows the power spectrum after prewhitening of the main three frequencies. Three additional peaks are detected without any problems.

The power spectrum of the data after prewhitening six frequencies (Data - 6f) presents a small problem: the dominant peak may be double. The peak at 11.770 cd-1, called f7, is strong and its frequency easily determined. Removal of this mode leaves another peak at 11.730 cd-1 at a lower amplitude. The frequency separation of 0.04 cd-1 is at the limit of frequency resolution of the present data set. This prevents us from applying the powerful phasing–amplitude test to distinguish between two independent close frequencies and the artifacts caused by a single frequency with variable amplitudes (see Breger & Bischof 2002). Fortunately, it is not necessary here to prove the existence of a frequency doublet: both frequencies have been seen before in the WIRE data (Paper III), while the weaker component in the 1994 data was already detected in the 1986 data (Paper II). We therefore accept the reality of the two close frequencies, f7 and f8.

Three additional frequencies are found in the 1994 data. Further peaks are below the statistical threshold (bottom panel of Fig. 3).

The adopted frequencies and amplitudes are shown in Table 2. The uncertainties in amplitude were calculated from the standard formulae given in Breger et al. (1999), based on the assumption of random observational errors and no aliasing. The uncertainties of the amplitudes of f7 and f8 are larger because these two modes are very close in frequency. Because the separation of two frequencies is at the resolution limit of the present data set, the computed size of the amplitude of one mode is somewhat affected by the presence of the other mode (the so-called pumping effect). These amplitudes are therefore marked with a colon.

The new solution fits the observed data well, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The good fit is also demonstrated by the value of the average residual per single measurement of $`\pm `$2.7 mmag in $`v`$ and $`\pm `$3.2 mmag in $`y`$.

## 5 Comparison with previous studies

There now exist three large photometric studies of $`\theta ^2`$ Tau: the present study based on 1994 multisite data, the re-analysis of the 1982–1986 multisite campaigns (with emphasis on the 1986 data, Paper II), and the WIRE satellite study from space (Paper III). Each photometric study detected between 10 and 12 frequencies. The excellent agreement between the frequencies found in these independent studies is remarkable.

### 5.1 The main modes: f1 to f5, f8 to f11

These 9 frequencies were detected in all three studies, but with variable amplitudes. While during the years 1982, 1983 and 1986, the mode at 13.23 cd-1 is dominant in each of these years, during 2002 the 13.69 cd-1 frequency became dominant.

### 5.2 The mode at 10.86 cd-1: f6

The mode at 10.86 cd-1 is present with amplitudes in excess of 1.0 mmag in both the 1994 and 2000 data, but appears to be absent ($`y`$ amplitude $``$ 0.3 mmag) during 1986.

### 5.3 The 11.73/11.77 cd-1 doublet: f7 and f8

The frequency separation of this close frequency pair is near the frequency resolution given by the 25d length of the 1994 data set as well as that of the 1986 and the WIRE results. In the WIRE data, the two frequencies are both present with similar amplitudes. During 1994, 11.77 cd-1 is dominant but the other peak is also visible. In the 1986 data, we can only see the other, lower-frequency mode. The 1982/3 data offer higher frequency resolution, but are not useful for the study of the pair because of a higher noise level.

We conclude that both modes are probably present. The strong amplitude variability of these modes may be intrinsic to the star or an artefact caused by poor frequency resolution.

### 5.4 Additional frequencies at 12.70 and 13.81 cd-1

Two additional frequencies are seen at statistically significant levels in only one of the three data sets:

(i) The 1986 data reveal an additional mode at 13.81 cd-1, which has not been seen before. The power spectrum of the WIRE residuals shows a peak at 13.83 cd-1 (see Fig. 6 of Paper III) and is therefore probably also present in that data set.

(ii) A mode at 12.70 cd-1 was also found by WIRE, which is not affected by 1 cd-1 aliasing and is therefore not affected by another mode near 11.73 cd-1. A formal solution with the 1994 data including this frequency yields a miniscule amplitude of 0.3 mmag. The mode may be present in the 1986 data, because in the power spectrum a small peak at an amplitude level of $``$ 0.5 mmag is seen at that frequency value, but below the level of significance. Numerical simulations suggest that the slight 1 cd-1 aliasing still present in the multisite ground-based campaign data is not responsible for the computed small (or zero) amplitudes in 1986 and 1994.

### 5.5 Amplitude ratios and phase differences

The variability measurements from Lowell and Sierra Nevada Observatories were obtained with the two $`v`$ and $`y`$ filters of the $`uvby\beta `$ system in order to compare amplitude ratios and phase differences in different colors. Especially the phase differences for different pulsation modes allow a discrimination between different $`\mathrm{}`$ values, but extensive measurements of extremely high photometric accuracy are required. The present study, regrettably, is not large enough for reliable mode identifications. In fact, the formal uncertainties in the phase differences are less than $`\pm `$3.0$`\mathrm{°}`$ for only three modes: f1, f2 and f4. All three modes give similar amplitude ratios with an average value of Av/Ay = 1.25 $`\pm `$ 0.05. For these modes the phase differences, $`\varphi _v\varphi _y`$, are -7$`\mathrm{°}`$ with uncertainties of $`\pm 2\mathrm{°}`$ for the first two modes and $`\pm 3\mathrm{°}`$ for f4.

## 6 The high-frequency region

An additional frequency region with power in excess of the expected noise occurs in the 26 to 30 cd-1 region. This is shown for the 1994 data in the top panel of Fig. 4. Several promising peaks exist, but do not reach the amplitudes required for a statistically certain discovery of a new pulsation frequency, viz., amplitude signal/noise ratios $``$ 4.0.

The statistics can be improved considerably by examining other photometric data in the literature, viz. the data obtained during 1982, 1983 and 1986 (see Paper I). For the 1982/1983 and 1986 photometry, we have prewhitened the variability in the low-frequency domain and computed power spectra in the high-frequency region. This is also shown in Fig. 4. The peak at 26.2 cd-1 is present in all data sets. In spite of the small amplitude of 0.6 mmag, the detections are statistically significant in two of the three data sets. An additional peak at 26.7 cd-1 is also statistically significant in the 1982–1986 data, but not seen in 1994. On the other hand, the most promising peak in 1994, 28.9 cd-1, is not seen in the earlier data. Since its detection is not statistically significant in any (including a combined 1982 – 1994) data set, it is not adopted by us.

It is interesting that the 26.2 cd-1 variability was also seen independently by the WIRE satellite: Poretti et al. in Paper III ascribe this to a spurious term caused by the duty cycle and experimental errors. In view of the present detection of the same frequency in earth-based data, we can rule out an experimental origin and conclude that these high frequencies originate in $`\theta ^2`$ Tau.

Table 3 lists the amplitudes for the two significant modes.

### 6.1 Could the high frequencies be combination or harmonic frequencies?

$`\delta `$ Scuti stars often show combination frequencies, f$`{}_{i}{}^{}\pm `$fj, as well as slightly nonsinusoidal light curves leading to 2fi peaks in the power spectrum. These peaks are, of course, situated at high frequencies and are characterized by amplitudes smaller than a factor of ten (or more) relative to those of fi. Since $`\theta ^2`$ Tau has its main variability in the 11–15 cd-1 range, combination frequencies/2f terms would be found in the 22–30 cd-1 region and therefore provide a potential explanation.

The frequencies of the potential high-frequency candidates can be easily calculated from f$`{}_{i}{}^{}\pm `$fj and 2fi. Such have been detected even in low-amplitude $`\delta `$ Scuti stars such as 4 CVn (Breger et al. 1999) and XX Pyx (Handler et al. 1996, 2000).

The value of the main high frequency, f12 at 26.184 cd-1, cannot be identified with the frequency of a combination of any two modes listed in Table 1. We conclude that it is not a combination frequency. On the other hand, f13 at 26.732 cd-1, is in the vicinity of two potential combinations, f1+f3 = 26.714 and f4+f5 = 26.713 cd-1. Although the 1982–1986 data have an excellent frequency resolution due to the 1000+ day span, the data contain long gaps, leading to the possibility of spectral leakage. We can see smaller peaks near 26.714 cd-1, so that some of the power at 26.732 cd-1 may be spectral leakage from combination frequencies. The important question concerns the physical origin of the combination terms, e.g., are these combination frequencies just combination terms or are new modes excited by resonance at frequencies near those of the combination frequencies? Garrido & Rodriguez (1996), in their study of combination frequencies, point out that the phasing of these combination terms might allow us to distinguish between the two possibilities. However, for low-amplitude $`\delta `$ Scuti stars, accurate phasing of combination terms are observationally difficult to determine and the question cannot be examined further at this stage.

Observations of $`\delta `$ Scuti stars (and other pulsating variables) with known combination frequencies show that the amplitudes of the combination terms are a function of the amplitudes of the two frequencies involved in the combination terms. We can estimate the size of the combination terms, fi+fj and 2fi from the Garrido & Rodriguez analysis as well as the observations of XX Pyx, 4 CVn and BI CMi (Breger et al. 2002) and calculate expected amplitudes small than 0.1 mmag. This is an order of magnitude smaller than observed. The amplitude argument, therefore, does not support an identification of the two frequencies as combination modes.

We conclude that the main peak, f12 cannot be identified as a combination frequency, while such an explanation is unlikely for f13.

### 6.2 Pulsation in a $`\delta `$ Scuti binary companion

$`\theta ^2`$ Tau is a 140.728d binary system with two components of similar temperature. Peterson, Stefanik & Latham (1993) have shown that the secondary is fainter by 1.10 mag and still on the main sequence. Both stars are situated inside the instability strip. It was shown in Paper I that the dominant pulsation modes originate in the evolved primary component because the predicted orbital light-time effects for the primary match the observed shifts in the light curves of up to several minutes. This confirms an expectation from the values of the frequencies (10 – 15 cd-1) which are incompatible with those of main-sequence $`\delta `$ Scuti stars.

What would be the expected frequencies of pulsation of the main-sequence secondary? Although $`\delta `$ Scuti stars pulsate with many simultaneously excited modes of pulsation, the average time-scale obeys a period–luminosity relation of the form, M$`{}_{v}{}^{}`$ -3.05 $`\mathrm{log}`$ P (see Breger 2000). We can now apply the known magnitude difference between the components to provide a rough estimate of the frequencies expected for the secondary. The magnitude difference of 1.10 mag shifts the 11–15 cd-1 range of the primary to 25–33 cd-1, which agrees with the band of power seen in the power spectrum.

The light of the secondary is heavily diluted by the light from the primary, which is 1.1 mag brighter than the secondary. Consequently, the amplitudes of pulsation of the secondary are reduced to one fourth of their intrinsic values. If our interpretation is correct, then the secondary would have $`V`$ amplitudes of about 0.5 mmag in combined light, or 2 mmag in the star alone. The hypothesis that these modes come from the secondary can be tested: the orbital motions produce light-time shifts of several minutes. Regrettably, the observed amplitudes are too small to obtain the required accuracy in the phasing at different orbital times.

## 7 Pulsation models for $`\theta ^2`$ Tau

In order to examine the nature of the pulsations of $`\theta ^2`$ Tau in more detail, the physical parameters for the two stars forming the binary system need to be determined. A recent summary of different determinations of global parameters of $`\theta ^2`$ Tau can be found in de Bruijne et al. (2001). Torres et al. (1997) used the orbital parallax to derive absolute visual magnitudes, $`M_\mathrm{v}`$, of 0.37 and 1.47 for the two components. Similar values, 0.48 and 1.58, are obtained by de Bruijne et al. (2001) and Lebreton at al. (2001) from Hipparcos dynamical parallax. Both stars have similar temperatures and its value can be obtained from the Moon & Dworetsky (1985) calibration of $`uvby\beta `$ photometry, viz., $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ = 7950 K. This value is lower than the value of 8200 K adopted by Breger et al. (1987) as well as others, since the older model-atmosphere calibrations of $`uvby\beta `$ tended to overestimate the temperatures of A stars. Using a calibration of the $`UBV`$ photometry, de Bruijne et al. (2001) derive $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ = 7980 K for the primary and $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ = 8230 K for the secondary component

The Moon & Dworetsky (1985) calibration also allows us to derive a $`\mathrm{log}g`$ = 3.69 from the $`uvby\beta `$ photometry of the combined light of the two stars. Correction of the measured Balmer discontinuity, $`c_1`$, for the less evolved secondary places our estimate for the primary near $`\mathrm{log}g`$ = 3.55.

This implies a considerably higher evolutionary status than that deduced by Torres et al., who adopted $`\mathrm{log}g`$ = 4.0. However, our value is consistent with the position of the star in the Hertzsprung–Russell Diagram for the Hyades cluster as well as the known luminosity (see above). We can also derive the $`\mathrm{log}g`$ value from the known mass, luminosity and temperature: for a mass of 2.42 solar masses for the primary (Torres et al.) a $`\mathrm{log}g`$ value of 3.63 is derived, in agreement with the value found above from $`uvby\beta `$ photometry.

Finally, this as well as similar studies neglect the effect of rotation and aspect, which affect the choice of the appropriate values for temperature, luminosity and gravity (e.g., see Pérez Hernández et al. 1999).

### 7.1 Method of computation

The method of computation of stellar evolution and pulsation was the same as in our other studies of $`\delta `$ Scuti stars (see Pamyatnykh 2000 and references therein). In particular, we used the latest version of the OPAL opacities (Iglesias & Rogers 1996) supplemented with the low–temperature data of Alexander & Ferguson (1994). Also, we used an updated version of the OPAL equation of state (Rogers et al. 1996), viz., version EOS2001, which was copied from the OPAL data library111 http://www-phys.llnl.gov/Research/OPAL/opal.html ftp://www-phys.llnl.gov/pub/opal/eos2001/ .

The computations were performed starting with chemically uniform models on the ZAMS, assuming an initial hydrogen abundance $`X=0.716`$, a helium abundance $`Y=0.26`$ and a heavy element abundance $`Z=0.024`$. These values correspond to recent estimates of the chemical composition of the Hyades (Perryman et al. 1998, Lebreton et al. 2001). We also tested models of somewhat different chemical composition, with slightly higher metallicity or with higher helium content ($`X=0.723`$, $`Y=0.25`$, $`Z=0.027`$; $`X=0.686`$, $`Y=0.29`$, $`Z=0.024`$).

We computed models with and without overshooting from the convective core. In the first case, the overshooting distance, $`d_{\mathrm{over}}`$, was chosen to be $`0.2H_\mathrm{p}`$, where $`H_\mathrm{p}`$ is the local pressure scale height at the edge of the convective core. Examples of evolutionary tracks for $`\delta `$ Scuti models computed with and without overshooting are given by Breger & Pamyatnykh (1998) and Pamyatnykh (2000). In the stellar envelope the standard mixing-length theory of convection with the mixing-length parameter $`\alpha `$ = 1.6 was used. This value was also used by Perryman et al. (1998) and Lebreton et al. (2001), who derived $`\alpha `$ from the calibration of the solar-model radius.

Uniform (solid-body) stellar rotation and conservation of global angular momentum during evolution from the ZAMS were assumed for all computations. These assumptions were chosen due to their simplicity. The influence of rotation on the evolutionary tracks of $`\delta `$ Scuti models was demonstrated by Breger & Pamyatnykh (1998) and Pamyatnykh (2000). In most cases the initial equatorial rotational velocity on the ZAMS was chosen to be 100 km/s.

The linear nonadiabatic analysis of low-degree oscillations ($`\mathrm{}`$$``$ 2) was performed using the code developed by Dziembowski (1977). The effects of slow rotation on oscillation frequencies were treated up to third order in the rotational velocity (Dziembowski & Goode 1992, Soufi et al. 1998).

The main aim of the present theoretical study was to check the instability of models of both stellar components of $`\theta ^2`$ Tau for the whole range of allowed values of mass or gravity, effective temperature and luminosity and to outline possible asteroseismological constraints to the models. We did not attempt to construct any model which fits quantitatively the observed and the theoretical frequency spectra of excited multiperiodic oscillations.

As a first step, we tried to fit the observed and theoretical frequency ranges of the unstable modes. The main uncertainty of such a study is the unsatisfactory description of convection in the stellar envelope and its interaction with pulsations. The fact that convection may influence the instability of stars not only near the Red Edge but almost in the whole classical instability strip was discussed by Stellingwerf (1984) in connection with the problem of the determination of helium abundance in globular clusters from the temperature at the Blue Edge of the RR Lyrae instability domain. $`\delta `$ Scuti stars are generally hotter than RR Lyrae stars, but even in this part of the instability strip convection influences the onset of the instability for low overtones of radial and nonradial oscillations. Fig. 9 of Pamyatnykh (2000) demonstrates that convection significantly displaces the radial fundamental Blue Edge to hotter temperatures due to increased driving in the hydrogen ionization zone which is more extended than in the radiative models. A part of this contribution to the driving may also be caused by the generally-used assumption that the convective flux does not vary during an oscillation cycle. This simple assumption is probably incorrect in the hydrogen convection zone. Therefore, the reality of the additional convective destabilization in the outer hydrogen zone must be examined by using a nonlocal time-dependent treatment of convection. First promising results in this direction (see Michel et al. 1999, Houdek 2000) exist. Note that the total driving in a $`\delta `$ Scuti star (with main contribution due to the $`\kappa `$ mechanism operating in the second helium ionization zone) only slightly exceeds the total damping. Therefore even small contributions to the driving are important.

Due to these uncertainties we consider our results as preliminary and our models as test models. Nevertheless, even with such a simple description of the convection we may have a possibility to constrain the stellar parameters from instability studies.

### 7.2 Results for test models

In Fig. 5 we show evolutionary tracks for selected models, computed by taking overshooting from the stellar convective core into account. The models with effective temperature $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=8000`$, 7900 and 7800 K, in which we study the oscillations, are marked by filled circles. The luminosities of the higher and the lower-mass models approximately correspond to the luminosity of the primary and secondary stellar components, respectively.

For the primary component, we have chosen models at the beginning of the post-main-sequence (hereafter called post-MS) expansion stage, which burn hydrogen in a thick shell just after full hydrogen exhaustion in the stellar core. This evolutionary stage of the primary was proposed earlier by Królikowska (1992) for a significantly hotter model of about 8200 K without overshooting. Moreover, we studied slightly more massive models of similar effective temperature and luminosity in the MS stage as well as post-MS models without overshooting.

The secondary component, which is fainter by approximately 1.1 mag (which corresponds to the difference by 0.44 in $`\mathrm{log}L`$ between the components) is a main-sequence star with hydrogen burning in the convective core.

In Fig. 5 we also plot the Blue Edges of the instability strip taken from Pamyatnykh (2000), which were computed for nonrotating models without overshooting for $`X=0.70`$, $`Y=0.28`$, $`Z=0.02`$ and with an assumed mixing-length parameter $`\alpha =1.0`$. The general Blue Edge is defined as the hotter envelope of unstable overtones, from radial mode $`p_8`$ (seventh overtone) near the ZAMS to mode $`p_5`$ (fourth overtone) for highest luminosities or smallest gravities in the figure (see Fig. 3 in Pamyatnykh 2000). The Blue Edge for the radial fundamental mode lies approximately in the center of the $`\delta `$ Scuti instability strip.

An additional study of the instability along the 2.5 $`M_{}`$ evolutionary track shows that the best theoretical general Blue Edge for $`X=0.716`$, $`Y=0.26`$, $`Z=0.024`$ will be located very close to the blue edge shown in Fig. 5, because the differences in the rotational velocity and in the overshooting efficiency do not influence the position of the Blue Edges and because the differences in the helium abundance are small. Moreover, convection has only a minor influence on the position of this hot general Blue Edge (see Fig. 9 in Pamyatnykh 2000). For the fundamental radial mode the best Blue Edge will be hotter by $`0.0080.009`$ in $`\mathrm{log}T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$. This is mainly due to a higher value of the mixing-length parameter.

From Fig. 5 we immediately obtain a strong constraint on the possible effective temperature of the primary of $`\theta ^2`$ Tau. All models with $`\mathrm{log}(L/L_{})>1.67`$ and $`\mathrm{log}T_{\mathrm{eff}}>3.907`$ ($`T_{\mathrm{eff}}>8070`$ K) are stable in all modes. A MS model of 2.5 $`M_{}`$ on the Blue Edge ($`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=8070`$ K) is marginally unstable in radial mode $`p_6`$ with the frequency 18.74 cd-1, which is well outside the observed frequency range. We can conclude that only significantly cooler models can pulsate with the observed frequencies in the 10.8 to 14.6 cd-1 range.

This conclusion is confirmed by computation of oscillations of the selected test models for the primary of $`\theta ^2`$ Tau. In Fig. 6, the normalized growth rates of radial and nonradial modes are plotted against frequency for all nine higher-mass models which are marked in Fig. 5. Only axisymmetric modes ($`m=0`$) are shown. The independence of the growth rate on the spherical harmonic degree, $`\mathrm{}`$, is a typical feature of modes excited by the $`\kappa `$ mechanism. The rotational velocities of the models are 81 to 86 km/s. The rotational splitting of the modes can extend the frequency range by approximately 0.5 c/d on both sides. We can see that excited frequencies of the 2.45 $`M_{}`$ model with $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=7800`$ K are in excellent agreement with the observed frequency range. The frequency range of unstable modes spans three radial orders from $`p_4`$ to $`p_6`$ for radial modes (mode $`p_4`$ is marginally unstable).

As was noted already, the results are sensitive to the treatment of convection. For example, if we use a mixing-length parameter $`\alpha =2.0`$ instead of $`\alpha =1.6`$, the frequency range of unstable modes for 2.45 $`M_{}`$ model with $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=7800`$ K is extended by 1 c/d on both sides. Moreover, our assumption about the unperturbed convective flux during an oscillation cycle is not fulfilled inside the hydrogen convective zone and may result in artificial additional driving in this zone. Therefore, these preliminary results must be considered with caution.

Similar results were obtained for the models without overshooting, the best fitting is achieved in this case for 2.50 $`M_{}`$ model with $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=7800`$ K. Also, for slightly more massive MS models with overshooting, we obtained a good agreement between the observed and the theoretical frequency ranges. The parameters of some models are given in Table 4 below.

In Fig. 7 we show the normalized growth rates in test models of the secondary component. These models are also marked in Fig. 5. As for the primary, we used models with effective temperatures from 7800 to 8000 K. The frequency range of unstable modes is much wider for these less luminous models: it spans 5 to 7 radial orders from $`p_2`$ to $`p_8`$. The observed frequencies lie near or between radial modes $`p_5`$ to $`p_6`$, which are unstable in the whole range in effective temperature.

In Table 4 we summarize parameters of the best test models. We can see that both MS and post–MS models for the primary with $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=7800`$ K can fit the observed frequency range. The values of the surface gravity and luminosity of all three models are similar. In the computation of the evolution of the MS model P1, the initial equatorial rotational velocity on the ZAMS was chosen to be 80 km/s. (Rotation does not affect our theoretical results significantly, but it may influence the photometric calibrations.) The total number of unstable modes of $`\mathrm{}2`$ is equal to 37 in the MS model P1, 77 and 56 in the post-MS models P2 and P3, respectively.

Note that the post-MS evolution of models for the primary is much faster than the MS evolution of the less massive secondary. For example, in Fig. 5 all models of 2.45 $`M_{}`$ with $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=8000`$ K, 7900 K and 7800 K (the last model is just model P3) have the same age 695 Myr. These models correspond to stars which are slightly older than the Hyades (650 Myr, Lebreton et al. 2001). On the other hand, the models without overshooting may correspond to stars younger than the Hyades: the age of 2.50 $`M_{}`$ models is 595 Myr. The best model for the primary may therefore be one with slightly weaker overshooting than that of model P3.

The inferred age of the secondary star can be adjusted to the age of the primary as well as to that of the Hyades cluster. This is possible because of the slower main-sequence evolution of the secondary and due to the fact that corresponding models of different effective temperatures fit the observed frequencies quite well. As an example, models of 2.10 $`M_{}`$ with $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=8000`$ K, 7900 K and 7800 K have the ages 625, 667 and 704 Myr.

Moreover, we tested some models of different chemical composition. If we choose the estimated values for the helium content (Lebreton et al. 2001) and metallicity (Lastennet et al. 1999), the chemical compositions become $`X=0.723`$, $`Y=0.25`$, and $`Z=0.027`$. The results for these models are very similar to those computed above for $`X=0.716`$, $`Y=0.26`$, $`Z=0.024`$.

Models with $`X=0.686`$, $`Y=0.29`$, $`Z=0.024`$ are somewhat more luminous for a given mass, e. g., the track of 2.45 $`M_{}`$ almost coincides with the track of 2.55 $`M_{}`$ computed with $`X=0.716`$, $`Y=0.26`$, $`Z=0.024`$. The models are also pulsationally more unstable and the range of unstable modes is somewhat wider due to higher helium abundance. As a consequence, the MS model of 2.45 $`M_{}`$ with $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=7900`$ K can be unstable in the observed frequency range and also at slightly higher frequencies. The luminosity of this model, $`\mathrm{log}(L/L_{})=1.71`$, agrees with the estimates from the orbital and dynamical parallaxes.

## 8 Conclusion

The DSN campaign 12, carried out during 1994 at four observatories, resulted in 152 hours of high-precision photometry. 13 frequencies of pulsation were derived from the data. These frequencies confirm the results from previous Earth-based (1982–1986) as well as satellite (2000) photometry, although amplitude variability on a time scale of several years is present.

While the detected modes in the 10–15 cd-1 range probably all originate in the primary, the higher frequencies with small amplitudes probably originate in the $`\delta `$ Scuti-type of variability of the main-sequence companion.

We constructed evolutionary models both for the primary and the secondary components and tested them for the instability against radial and nonradial oscillations.

The best fit of the theoretical and observed frequency ranges is achieved for models with $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}7800`$ K or slightly higher, in agreement with photometric calibrations. The instability spans two or three radial orders from $`p_4`$ to $`p_6`$ for radial modes. Post-MS models with or without overshooting are preferable for the primary, but MS models with overshooting are also possible.

For the less luminous secondary component the instability range is wider and spans 5 to 7 radial orders from $`p_2`$ to $`p_8`$. Models of different effective temperature are unstable at observed frequencies 26.184 and 26.732 cd-1 which lie around radial modes $`p_5`$ to $`p_6`$.

The main uncertainties of the results are caused by our crude treatment of the convective flux. We neglected the Lagrangian variation of the convective flux during an oscillation cycle. This assumption is not fulfilled in the hydrogen convective zone, which may lead to an incorrect estimate of the small contribution of this zone to the driving. To prove the results quantitatively, it is necessary to use a reliable theory of non-local time-dependent convection. We note also the nonlocal results by Kupka & Montgomery (2002), who point out the necessity to use very different values of the mixing-length parameter in the hydrogen and helium convection zones, if we still use local mixing-length theory. According to nonlocal studies of A-star envelopes, it is necessary to use a small value of this parameter in the hydrogen zone and a significantly higher value in the deeper helium zone. We plan to perform corresponding tests for the $`\theta ^2`$ Tau models. However, even with the present calculations and results we probably can exclude modes involving the second radial overtone (mode $`p_3`$) and lower-order modes, as well as all hot models of the primary with $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}>8000`$ K. The reason is that all these models are stable in the observed frequency range of 10.8 to 14.6 cd-1.

## Acknowledgements

It is a pleasure to thank F. Beichbuchner for assistance with the observations. We are grateful to W. A. Dziembowski for stimulating discussions. This investigation has been supported by the Austrian Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung under project number P14546-PHY (MB) and the Polish Committee for Scientific Research under Grant 5-P03D-012-20(AAP).


text:
# Entangled Quantum Fields near the Event Horizon, and Entropy

## I Introduction

Black hole quantum physics nowadays is the most promising theoretical laboratory to test fundamental ideas about nature. Some of the most fascinating issues arising in the struggle to understand black hole quantum physics are: the origin of the entropy of a black hole, the holographic paradigm, the paradox of the information loss. All of them are related to what seems to be a deep and fundamental problem: the counting of the relevant degrees of freedom. Of course, all those paradoxes and difficulties originate from the absence of a reliable quantum theory of gravity. Hence a better understanding of them could shed some light on the long-standing problem of quantizing gravity.

By using thermodynamical arguments, Bekenstein obtained that the entropy of a black hole is proportional to the area of the event horizon ,

$$S𝒜,$$
(I.1)
and not to the volume, as for ordinary matter. Bekenstein’s derivation left open the crucial question of the microscopic explanation of such a result. There are, of course, many approaches aimed to explain the microscopic origin of the black hole entropy in several contexts. In the framework of string theory, the microscopic derivation has been pioneered by Strominger and Vafa , see also Ref.  for a general review, and Refs. . On the other hand, the problem has been faced also by considering the value of the Euclidean action , the rate of pair creation of black holes , the Noether charge associated with a bifurcating Killing horizon .

By considering a quantum scalar field in the presence of the gravitational field, treated as a classical background described by general relativity , Hawking showed that quantum effects lead to thermal evaporation of black holes , with a temperature given by

$$T=\frac{\kappa }{2\pi },$$
(I.2)
where $`\kappa =(2GM)^1`$ is the surface gravity of the black hole (through the paper we shall use the natural units $`\mathrm{}=c=k_B=1`$).

Hawking effect seems to be more fundamental than the theory within which it has been derived (see for instance ), nonetheless it is surely associated with the existence of an horizon in the space-time, thus Schwarzschild and other background space-times have been extensively investigated. A case in point is the Rindler space-time , that is a flat space–time with an horizon, associated with a uniformly accelerated observer in Minkowski space-time . A basic point in Hawking’s original proposal , is that the evaporation of black holes through quantum radiation induces nonunitary evolution of quantum fields. This gives raise in turn to the intriguing puzzle that information can be lost. The traditional quantum field theoretical approach is expected to fail to describe these phenomena, being based on the unitarity. In other words, if black holes’ evaporation has to be described in quantum field theory, then the request of unitarity, deeply rooted in the conventional approach, has to be relaxed.

In this paper we shall show that the existence of the unitarily inequivalent representations of quantum fields allows to calculate, in a new setting, the entanglement entropy of black holes. An unexpected consequence of the nonunitarity of the mapping among the vacua in the flat and curved frames, is the robustness of the entanglement between scalar quantum modes living on the two space-like separated sides of the event horizon.

Our approach is based on the construction of an entropy operator directly from the condensate structure of the quantum vacuum. The main steps involved are two: first, we realize that the vacuum state of a Minkowskian observer $`|0_M`$ is seen as a condensate of entangled modes by a generic observer, and there is no unitary transformation to disentangle $`|0_M`$; second, we construct the von Neumann entropy operator from this vacuum and investigate its properties.

Some preliminary results in this direction already appeared while investigating more general features of field quantization in curved background . Here we shall fully exploit the entropy operator and the nonunitary nature of the entanglement to compute the entanglement entropy of a black hole in this field theoretical setting.

The entanglement entropy of black hole has been long investigated . However, our present study shows that the nonunitarity of the mapping between the vacua in the flat and curved frames is the root of the entanglement robustness.

The paper is organized as follows: In Sec. II we recall the main features of the quantization of a complex scalar field in curved space-time. In Sec. III we analyze the structure of the quantum vacuum, we show that it is a condensate of infinitely many entangled particles living in the two space-like separated regions, and we comment on the nonunitarity of the mapping between the vacua in the flat and the curved frames. In Sec. IV the entropy operator is eventually constructed and studied. We then show in which sense its correct vacuum expectation is the entangled entropy. The application of the obtained results to the Schwarzschild space-time is the argument of Sec. V. Conclusions are drawn in Sec. VI. In Appendix A we present some details of the derivation of the entropy operator, and in Appendix B the Rindler space-time is investigated.

## II Quantization of Scalar Fields in Curved Space-Time

In this Section we recall the well known main steps of the quantization of scalar fields in a curved background , in order to develop the formalism to derive the entanglement and the entropy.

Consider a complex massive scalar quantum field $`\varphi (x)`$ in the $`D`$-dimensional Minkowski space–time, with Lagrangian density

$$(\varphi ^{},\varphi )=_\mu \varphi ^{}^\mu \varphi m^2\varphi ^{}\varphi .$$
(II.1)
As usual, $`\varphi (x)`$ can be decomposed in Minkowski modes $`\{U_k(x)\}`$, orthonormal with respect to the Klein-Gordon inner product defined as $`(\varphi _1,\varphi _2)=i\varphi _1^{}\stackrel{}{_t}\varphi _2d^{D1}x`$. Let us keep the $`(D1)`$-volume finite, and use periodic boundary conditions $`k_n^i=2\pi L_i^1n_i`$, with $`i=1,\mathrm{},D`$, $`n_i`$ integers, and the volume given by $`L_1\mathrm{}L_D`$, to write

$$\varphi (x)=\underset{k}{}[a_kU_k(x)+\overline{a}_k^{}U_k^{}(x)],$$
(II.2)
with $`k=(k_1,\stackrel{}{k})`$. The quantum Hamiltonian is then given by

$$H_M=\underset{k}{}\omega _k(a_k^{}a_k+\overline{a}_k^{}\overline{a}_k),$$
(II.3)
where $`\omega _k=\sqrt{k_1^2+|\stackrel{}{k}|^2+m^2}`$, and $`a_k,a_k^{}`$ ($`\overline{a}_k,\overline{a}_k^{}`$) are the annihilation and creation operators, respectively, for particles (antiparticles). They act on the Hilbert-Fock space $``$, the Minkowski vacuum being defined by

$$a_k|0_M=\overline{a}_k|0_M=0,k.$$
(II.4)
and satisfy the usual canonical commutation relations (CCRs)

$`[a_k,a_k^{}^{}]=\delta _{kk^{}},[\overline{a}_k,\overline{a}_k^{}^{}]=\delta _{kk^{}}.`$

Let us now recall the key features of the quantization of the same scalar field $`\varphi (x)`$ in curved space-times. One expands the field in terms of the complete set (with respect to Klein-Gordon product) of functions $`\{u_p^{(\sigma )}(x)\}`$, where $`p=(\mathrm{\Omega },\stackrel{}{k})`$, and the symbol $`\sigma =\pm `$ takes into account the fact that the space-time has an horizon, so that it is divided into two causally disconnected regions: the internal and external regions of the Schwarzschild geometry, the two Rindler wedges, etc.. The functions $`\{u_p^{(\sigma )}(x)\}`$ are derived by solving the Klein-Gordon equation in the coordinates of space-time under consideration. Thus, one writes

$$\varphi (x)=\underset{\sigma }{}\underset{p}{}\left[b_p^{(\sigma )}u_p^{(\sigma )}(x)+\overline{b}_p^{(\sigma )}u_p^{(\sigma )}(x)\right],$$
(II.5)
where the operators $`b_p^{(\sigma )}`$ and $`\overline{b}_p^{(\sigma )}`$ are assumed to satisfy the usual CCRs.

By introducing the operators

$$d_p^{(\sigma )}=\underset{k_1}{}𝒫_\mathrm{\Omega }^{(\sigma )}(k_1)a_{k_1\stackrel{}{k}},$$
(II.6)
and similarly for $`\overline{d}_p^{(\sigma )}`$ in terms of $`\overline{a}_k`$, where $`\{𝒫_\mathrm{\Omega }^{(\sigma )}(k_1)\}`$ is a complete set of orthogonal functions, the operators $`b_p^{(\sigma )}`$, and $`\overline{b}_p^{(\sigma )}`$ can be expressed in terms of the Bogolubov transformations

$`b_p^{(\sigma )}`$ $`=`$ $`d_p^{(\sigma )}\mathrm{cosh}ϵ(p)+\overline{d}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}\mathrm{sinh}ϵ(p)=G(ϵ)d_p^{(\sigma )}G^1(ϵ),`$ (II.7)
$`\overline{b}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}`$ $`=`$ $`d_p^{(\sigma )}\mathrm{sinh}ϵ(p)+\overline{d}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}\mathrm{cosh}ϵ(p)=G(ϵ)\overline{d}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}G^1(ϵ),`$ (II.8)
where $`\stackrel{~}{p}=(\mathrm{\Omega },\stackrel{}{k})`$, and the generator of the transformations is

$$G(ϵ)=\mathrm{exp}\left\{\underset{\sigma }{}\underset{p}{}ϵ(p)\left[d_p^{(\sigma )}\overline{d}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}d_p^{(\sigma )}\overline{d}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}\right]\right\}.$$
(II.9)
At finite volume $`G(ϵ)`$ is a unitary operator:

$`G^1(ϵ)=G(ϵ)=G^{}(ϵ).`$

The canonical operators $`d_p^{(\sigma )}`$ and $`\overline{d}_p^{(\sigma )}`$ annihilate the Minkowski vacuum $`|0_M^{(+)}|0_M^{()}`$. On the other hand, the operators $`b_p^{(\sigma )}`$, and $`\overline{b}_p^{(\sigma )}`$ annihilate the vacuum

$$|0^{(+)}(ϵ)|0^{()}(ϵ)=G(ϵ)\left[|0_M^{(+)}|0_M^{()}\right].$$
(II.10)
In what follows we shall keep the short-hand notation: $`|0_M|0_M^{(+)}|0_M^{()}`$, and $`|0(ϵ)|0^{(+)}(ϵ)|0^{()}(ϵ)`$.

The parameter $`ϵ`$ in Eqs. (II.7) and (II.8) is given by

$$\mathrm{sinh}ϵ(p)=\frac{1}{(e^{\mathrm{\Omega }/T}1)^{1/2}},$$
(II.11)
where $`T`$ is related to the surface gravity of black holes, in the case of Schwarzschild geometry , or to the acceleration, in the case of Rindler geometry . One can also show that the total Hamiltonian is given by

$`H_ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{\sigma }{}}{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}\sigma \mathrm{\Omega }[b_p^{(\sigma )}b_p^{(\sigma )}+\overline{b}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}\overline{b}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}]`$ (II.12)
$`=`$ $`H^{(+)}(ϵ)H^{()}(ϵ),`$ (II.13)
where we chose not to normal-order, as some considerations on the entropy will be clearer in this setting (see Sec. V). Let us also note that the vacuum $`|0(ϵ)`$ does depend on $`T`$, hence depends on the physical parameters that characterize the background.

The Bogolubov transformations, Eqs. (II.7) and (II.8), relate the vectors of $`=^{(+)}^{()}`$ to the vectors of another Hilbert–Fock space $`_ϵ=_ϵ^{(+)}_ϵ^{()}`$ labelled by $`ϵ`$. In our approach the structure of the vacuum, and of course of the Hilbert space, is crucial. We shall dedicate the next Section to the investigation of their physical properties.

## III Vacuum Structure and Entanglement

The relation between the spaces $``$ and $`_ϵ`$ is established by the generator $`G(ϵ)`$: $`_ϵ`$, or by its inverse $`G^1(ϵ)`$: $`_ϵ`$. The physical meaning of this freedom is that we can arbitrarily choose to express Minkowskian quantities in terms of generic $`ϵ`$-quantities, or the other way around. We choose, for instance, to express the Minkowskian vacuum in terms of the generic $`ϵ`$-vacuum

$$|0_M=G^1(ϵ)|0(ϵ).$$
(III.1)
This relation holds only at finite degrees of freedom, i.e. finite volume. Note that $`G(ϵ)`$ is an element of***To be more precise, for each mode, we have the direct product of two two-boson realizations of $`SU(1,1)`$: $`[T_+^i,T_{}^i]=2T_0^i`$, $`[T_0^i,T_\pm ^i]=\pm T_\pm ^i`$, $`i=1,2`$, where $`[T^1,T^2]=0`$, for all the generators $`T`$. This is seen by defining $`T_+^1=d^{(+)}\overline{d}^{()}`$, $`T_{}^1=d^{(+)}\overline{d}^{()}`$, $`T_0^1=\frac{1}{2}(d^{(+)}d^{(+)}+\overline{d}^{()}\overline{d}^{()})`$, while $`T_+^2`$, $`T_{}^2`$, $`T_0^2`$ are obtained by replacing $`(+)()`$. $`SU(1,1)\times SU(1,1)`$. Of course the same structure arises by writing $`G^1(ϵ)`$ in terms of the $`b`$s, all one has to do is to replace $`db`$ in the Eq. (II.9). Thus by using the Gaussian decomposition, the Minkowski vacuum can be formally expressed as a $`SU(1,1)\times SU(1,1)`$ generalized coherent state  of Cooper-like pairs

$$|0_M=\frac{1}{Z}\mathrm{exp}\left[\underset{\sigma }{}\underset{p}{}\mathrm{tanh}ϵ(p)b_p^{(\sigma )}\overline{b}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}\right]|0(ϵ),$$
(III.2)
where $`Z=_p\mathrm{cosh}^2ϵ(p)`$.

In the continuum limit in the space of momenta, i.e. in the infinite-volume limit, the number of degrees of freedom becomes uncountable infinite, hence we have

$`0(ϵ)|0_M0`$ $`\mathrm{as}V\mathrm{},ϵ`$ (III.3)
$`0(ϵ)|0(ϵ^{})0`$ $`\mathrm{as}V\mathrm{},ϵ,ϵ^{},ϵϵ^{},`$ (III.4)
where $`V`$ is the volume of the whole $`(D1)`$-dimensional space. This means that the Hilbert spaces $``$ and $`_ϵ`$ become unitarily inequivalent in the continuum limit. In this limit $`ϵ`$ labels the set $`\{H_ϵ,ϵ\}`$ of the infinitely many unitarily inequivalent representations of the CCRs .

Let us now discuss the entanglement of the vacuum $`|0_M`$ in (III.2), that we rewrite in the following convenient form

$$|0_M=\frac{1}{Z}\left[|0(ϵ)+\underset{p}{}\mathrm{tanh}ϵ(p)\left(|1_p^{(+)},\overline{0}|0,\overline{1}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{()}+|0,\overline{1}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(+)}|1_p^{()},\overline{0}\right)+\mathrm{}\right],$$
(III.5)
where, we denote by $`|n_p^{(\sigma )},\overline{m}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}`$ a state of $`n`$ particles and $`m`$ antiparticles in whichever sector $`(\sigma )`$. Note that for the generic $`n^{\mathrm{th}}`$ term, the state $`|n_p^{(\sigma )},\overline{0}|1_{p_1}^{(\sigma )},\mathrm{},1_{p_n}^{(\sigma )},\overline{0}`$, and similarly for antiparticles.

By introducing a well-known notation, $``$ for a particle, and $``$ for an antiparticle, the two-particle state in (III.5) can be written as

$$|^{(+)}|^{()}+|^{(+)}|^{()},$$
(III.6)
which is an entangled state of particle and antiparticle living in the two causally disconnected regions $`(\pm )`$. The generic $`n^{\mathrm{th}}`$ term in (III.5) shares exactly the same property as the two-particle state, but this time the $``$ describes a set of $`n`$ particles, and $``$ a set of $`n`$ anti-particles. The mechanism of the entanglement, dynamically induced by gravitational effects, takes place at all orders in the expansion, always by grouping particles and antiparticles into two sets. Thus the whole vacuum $`|0_M`$ is an infinite superposition of entangled statesA similar structure also arises in the temperature-dependent vacuum of Thermo-Field Dynamics , see also Ref. .

$$|0_M=\underset{n=0}{\overset{+\mathrm{}}{}}\sqrt{W_n}|\mathrm{Entangled}_n,$$
(III.7)
where

$$W_n=\underset{p}{}\frac{\mathrm{sinh}^{2n_p}ϵ(p)}{\mathrm{cosh}^{2(n_p+2)}ϵ(p)},$$
(III.8)
with

$$0<W_n<1\mathrm{and}\underset{n=0}{\overset{+\mathrm{}}{}}W_n=1.$$
(III.9)
Details of the computations can be found in the Appendix A.

Of course, the probability of having entanglement of two sets of $`n`$ particles and $`n`$ antiparticles is $`W_n`$. At finite volume, being $`W_n`$ a decreasing monotonic function of $`n`$, the entanglement is suppressed for large $`n`$. It appears then, that only a finite number of entangled terms in the expansion (III.7) is relevant. Nonetheless this is only true at finite volume (the quantum mechanical limit), while the interesting case occurs in the infinite volume limit, which one has to perform in a quantum field theoretical setting.

The entanglement is generated by $`G(ϵ)`$, where the scalar field modes in one sector $`(\sigma )`$ are coupled to the modes in the other sector $`(\sigma )`$ via the parameter $`ϵ(p)`$, which takes into account the effects of the background gravitational field (environment) . We stress that the origin of the entanglement is the environment, in contrast with the usual quantum mechanical view, which attributes to the environment the loss of the entanglement. In the present treatment such an origin for the entanglement makes it quite robust.

One further reason for the robustness is that this entanglement is realized in the limit to the infinite volume once and for all, since then there is no unitary evolution to disentangle the vacuum: at infinite volume one cannot ”unknot the knots”. Such a nonunitarity is only realized when all the terms in the series (III.7) are summed up, which indeed happens in the $`V\mathrm{}`$ limit.

Summarizing, the interaction with the environment and nonunitarity, are the basis for the generation and the stability of the entanglement. These two features are entirely due to the nature of the quantum field theoretical vacuum.

## IV The Entropy Operator

It is now matter of constructing thermodynamical quantities out of the condensate structure of the entangled vacuum $`|0_M`$. By using Eqs. (II.7) and (II.8) one obtains that the number of modes of the type $`b_p^{(\sigma )}`$ in $`|0_M`$ is given by

$$𝒩_b^{(\sigma )}0_M|b_p^{(\sigma )}b_p^{(\sigma )}|0_M=\mathrm{sinh}^2ϵ(p),\sigma =\pm ,$$
(IV.1)
and similarly for the modes of type $`\overline{b}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}`$.

Algebraic manipulations allow to recast $`|0_M`$ in Eq. (III.2) in the form

$`|0_M`$ $`=`$ $`e^{S^{(+)}(ϵ)/2}e^{_{p,\sigma }b_p^{(\sigma )}\overline{b}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}}|0(ϵ)`$ (IV.2)
$`=`$ $`e^{S^{()}(ϵ)/2}e^{_{p,\sigma }b_p^{(\sigma )}\overline{b}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}}|0(ϵ),`$ (IV.3)
where $`S^{(+)}(ϵ)`$ and $`S^{()}(ϵ)`$ are given by

$`S^{(+)}(ϵ)`$ $`=`$ $`𝒮^{(+)}(ϵ)+\overline{𝒮}^{(+)}(ϵ)`$ (IV.4)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}[b_p^{(+)}b_p^{(+)}\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{sinh}^2ϵ(p)b_p^{(+)}b_p^{(+)}\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{cosh}^2ϵ(p)`$ (IV.6)
$`+(b\overline{b})],`$
$`S^{()}(ϵ)`$ $`=`$ $`𝒮^{()}(ϵ)+\overline{𝒮}^{()}(ϵ)`$ (IV.7)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}[b_p^{()}b_p^{()}\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{sinh}^2ϵ(p)b_p^{()}b_p^{()}\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{cosh}^2ϵ(p)`$ (IV.9)
$`+(b\overline{b})].`$
The formulae (IV.2) will be proved in some details in the Appendix A.

One can easily convince himself that $`S^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)`$, $`\sigma =\pm `$, is nothing else than the von Neumann entropy

$$S=𝒩\mathrm{ln}𝒩,$$
(IV.10)
where $`𝒩`$ is the number of microscopic states. At the origin of this entropy there are the vacuum fluctuations of the quantum states, which have a thermal character for different observers related to the Minkowski observer through a diffeomorphism. By counting the number of occupation states in the vacuum $`|0_M`$ with the number operator for particles $`N_b^{(\sigma )}b_p^{(\sigma )}b_p^{(\sigma )}`$, we must subtract those occupation states counted by the operator $`\overline{b}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}\overline{b}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}=1+N_{\overline{b}}^{(\sigma )}`$, where $`N_{\overline{b}}^{(\sigma )}`$ is the number operator for the antiparticles. This accounts for our definitions (IV.4) and (IV.7) of the entropy operators

$$S^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)=\underset{p}{}\left[N_b^{(\sigma )}\mathrm{ln}𝒩_b^{(\sigma )}\left(1+N_{\overline{b}}^{(\sigma )}\right)\mathrm{ln}\left(1+𝒩_{\overline{b}}^{(\sigma )}\right)+(b\overline{b})\right].$$
(IV.11)
We note that in terms of the coefficients $`W_n`$ in Eq. (III.8) we have

$`0_M|S^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)|0_M={\displaystyle \underset{n0}{}}W_n\mathrm{ln}W_n.`$

We emphasize that the operator $`S^{(+)}(ϵ)=𝒮^{(+)}(ϵ)+\overline{𝒮}^{(+)}(ϵ)`$ is the sum of the entropy operators for the boson gas of particles and antiparticles in the sector $`(+)`$, similarly for $`S^{()}(ϵ)`$ in the sector $`()`$. The total entropy operator is given by

$$S_ϵ=S^{(+)}(ϵ)S^{()}(ϵ),$$
(IV.12)
and, as the Hamiltonian (II.13), it is the difference of the two operators. The Bogolubov transformations leave $`S_ϵ`$ invariant, $`[S_ϵ,G(ϵ)]=0`$, hence $`S_ϵ|0_M=0`$. This means that one can arbitrarily choose one of the two sectors, $`\sigma =\pm `$, to “measure” the correspondent entropy $`S^{(\pm )}(ϵ)`$ relative to the ground state $`|0_M`$. Let us work in the sector $`\sigma =+`$.

Now we want to show in which sense this entropy is an entanglement entropy. When one computes the vacuum expectation value $`0(ϵ)|S^{(+)}(ϵ)|0(ϵ)`$ the result is

$`0(ϵ)|S^{(+)}(ϵ)|0(ϵ)=2{\displaystyle \underset{\mathrm{\Omega },\stackrel{}{k}}{}}\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{cosh}^2ϵ(\mathrm{\Omega }),`$

which is divergent due to the infinite sum on the momenta $`_\stackrel{}{k}`$. Nevertheless, if the entropy operator is normal-ordered, the term $`\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{cosh}^2ϵ(\mathrm{\Omega })`$ is removed and the expectation value of the entropy vanishes.

Nonetheless with $`S^{(+)}(ϵ)`$ we have to look at the entropy of the Minkowski vacuum $`|0_M`$, and not of $`|0(ϵ)`$. The generic observer sees the Minkowski vacuum as an entangled condensate. Such an observer then will measure $`0_M|S^{(+)}(ϵ)|0_M`$. The result of such a ”cross measurement” gives

$$0_M|S^{(+)}(ϵ)|0_M=2\underset{\mathrm{\Omega },\stackrel{}{k}}{}\left[\mathrm{sinh}^2ϵ(\mathrm{\Omega })\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{sinh}^2ϵ(\mathrm{\Omega })\mathrm{cosh}^2ϵ(\mathrm{\Omega })\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{cosh}^2ϵ(\mathrm{\Omega })\right],$$
(IV.13)
where Eq. (IV.1) has been used. We notice that again there is a divergence due to $`_\stackrel{}{k}`$, but this time even if the expression is normal-ordered the result is never zero (cfr. e.g. Sec V).

The physical meaning of such occurrence is that the entanglement is dynamically generated via the interaction with the gravitational background, as already observed. The entanglement is only seen if the generic observer measures on the Minkowski vacuum. It is precisely in this sense that we say that the black hole entropy is the entanglement entropy.

As already observed, in the $`V\mathrm{}`$ limit the generator $`G(ϵ)`$ does not exist, but the whole structure described above survives. What one loses in that limit is the possibility to generate the mapping between the states of the two frames, the Minkowski and the generic one. In some sense, the ”symmetry” in writing $`0_M|S^{(+)}(ϵ)|0_M=0(ϵ)|G(ϵ)S^{(+)}(ϵ)G^1(ϵ)|0(ϵ)=0(ϵ)|S_M^{(+)}|0(ϵ)`$ is lost.

For the sake of completeness we conclude this Section by noticing that the ”free-energy” can also be introduced

$$^{(+)}(ϵ)0_M|H^{(+)}(ϵ)\frac{1}{\beta }S^{(+)}(ϵ)|0_M.$$
(IV.14)
It is interesting to note that by looking for the values of $`ϵ(p)`$ making $`^{(+)}(ϵ)`$ stationary, and considering negligible variations of $`\beta `$ with respect to $`ϵ`$ one obtains

$$\beta \mathrm{\Omega }=\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{tanh}^2ϵ(p)\mathrm{sinh}^2ϵ(p)=\frac{1}{e^{\beta \mathrm{\Omega }}1}.$$
(IV.15)
From Eq. (IV.1), it follows that

$$𝒩_b^{(+)}=\frac{1}{e^{\beta \mathrm{\Omega }}1},$$
(IV.16)
and similarly for $`𝒩_{\overline{b}}^{(+)}`$. In this way one consistently recovers (II.11), which is the Bose distribution provided that $`T=\beta ^1`$ is identified with the temperature.

## V Applications to the Schwarzschild Space–Time

We derive now the thermodynamical properties of black holes described by the Schwarzschild geometry

$$ds^2=\left(1\frac{2GM}{r}\right)dt^2\left(1\frac{2GM}{r}\right)^1dr^2r^2(d\theta ^2+\mathrm{sin}^2\theta d\phi ^2),$$
(V.1)
where the space-time is taken to be 4-dimensional. The event horizon is given by $`r_S=2GM`$, and the Bekenstein-Hawking temperature (I.2) is $`Tr_S^1=(2GM)^1`$.

We want to calculate the finite part of the entropy in Eq. (IV.13) by moving to the continuum limit, taken to be formally identical to the Minkowskian one

$$\underset{\mathrm{\Omega },\stackrel{}{k}}{}\frac{V}{(2\pi )^3}_0^{\mathrm{}}𝑑\mathrm{\Omega }d^2k,$$
(V.2)
where $`V`$ is the 3-dimensional volume of the whole space-time.

The entropy density is

$`s^{(+)}(ϵ)_M`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{0_M|S^{(+)}(ϵ)|0_M}{V}}`$ (V.3)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{2}{(2\pi )^3}}{\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}𝑑\mathrm{\Omega }\left[\mathrm{sinh}^2ϵ(\mathrm{\Omega })\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{sinh}^2ϵ(\mathrm{\Omega })\mathrm{cosh}^2ϵ(\mathrm{\Omega })\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{cosh}^2ϵ(\mathrm{\Omega })\right]{\displaystyle d^2k}.`$ (V.4)
By expressing $`ϵ(\mathrm{\Omega })`$ as a function of $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ through Eq. (II.11), one can compute the integral in Eq. (V.3) to obtain (see Eqs. 3.411-1 and 4.223-2 of Ref. )

$$s^{(+)}(ϵ)_M=\frac{\pi ^2T}{3(2\pi )^3}d^2k,$$
(V.5)
which is divergent, as expected. We cannot remove this infinity by normal ordering the entropy operator. Following the recipe adopted in quantum gravity we use a cutoff $`k_C`$ of the order of the Planck momentum $`k_Ck_P=l_P^1=G^{1/2}`$. Our entropy density is then given by

$$s^{(+)}(ϵ)_M=\frac{k_C^2T}{24\pi }.$$
(V.6)
Being the proper volume in the Schwarzschild geometry

$`V_{\mathrm{prop}}={\displaystyle \sqrt{g_{rr}g_{\theta \theta }g_{\phi \phi }}𝑑r𝑑\theta 𝑑\phi }`$

only defined for $`r>r_S`$, we now have to compute the entropy for the spherical shell of radii $`r_S`$ and $`r_S+\delta `$. The volume of the shell is given by

$$𝒱=4\pi r_S^3_1^{1+h}\frac{x^{5/2}}{\sqrt{x1}}𝑑xr_S^3,$$
(V.7)
where $`h=\delta /r_S`$ is chosen by requiring the numerical factor of proportionality to be $`𝒪(1)`$. Since $`k_Ck_P`$, and recalling that the Bekenstein-Hawking temperature is $`Tr_S^1`$, we obtain the upper bound for the entropy

$$S^{(+)}(ϵ)_M=𝒱s^{(+)}(ϵ)_M\frac{𝒜}{l_P^2}.$$
(V.8)
Hence the entropy is proportional to the horizon area $`𝒜`$ of the black hole and is bounded from above. In the Appendix B this analysis will be applied to the Rindler space-time.

It is an interesting question to investigate the relation between the derivation of (V.8) and the holographic principle.

## VI Conclusions

We proposed a new method to obtain the entanglement entropy of black holes, based on the relevant nonunitary features of quantum fields. This was done for the Schwarzschild and Rindler (Appendix B) space-times.

Hawking’s original proposal  that the evaporation of black holes through quantum radiation induces nonunitary evolution of quantum fields was reanalysed. Despite the fact that a description in terms of the traditional (fully unitary) quantum field theoretical approach is then expected to fail, we have shown that the unitarily inequivalent representation of quantum fields allow to calculate, in a new setting, the entanglement entropy of black holes.

We have also shown that the entanglement between inner and outer particles, with respect to the event horizon, is very robust due to the nonunitary nature of the mapping between the vacua in the flat and the curved frames.

Our results are obtained assuming a black hole at thermodynamical equilibrium. The approach presented in this paper can be applied to a wide range of problems related to black holes’ quantum physics. We shall further exploit this formalism in future works.

###### Acknowledgements.

A.I. thanks Roman Jackiw for interesting comments. A.I. and G.V. acknowledge COSLAB Network European Science Foundation. This work is supported in part by funds provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (D.O.E.) under cooperative research agreement DF-FC02-94ER40818.
APPENDIX A: Useful Algebraic Relations
In this Appendix we want to derive the expressions (IV.2) and (III.7) for the vacuum $`|0_M`$. We first derive a couple of useful relations. Recalling that $`S^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)=𝒮^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)+\overline{𝒮}^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)`$, we have   $`e^{S^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)/2}b_p^{(\sigma )}e^{S^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)/2}`$ $`=`$ $`b_p^{(\sigma )}+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}[b_p^{(\sigma )},𝒮^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)]+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{8}}[[b_p^{(\sigma )},𝒮^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)],𝒮^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)]+\mathrm{}`$ (A.1)
$`=`$ $`b_p^{(\sigma )}\left(1+\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{tanh}ϵ(p)+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{tanh}ϵ(p))^2+\mathrm{}\right)`$ (A.2)
$`=`$ $`b_p^{(\sigma )}\mathrm{exp}\{\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{tanh}ϵ(p)\}=b_p^{(\sigma )}\mathrm{tanh}ϵ(p),`$ (A.3)
where $`\sigma =\pm `$. Similarly one can prove the same relation for the antiparticles by using the $`\overline{𝒮}^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)`$ in $`S^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)`$:

$$e^{S^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)/2}\overline{b}_p^{(\sigma )}e^{S^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)/2}=\mathrm{tanh}ϵ(p)\overline{b}_p^{(\sigma )}.$$
(A.4)
Furthermore, one sees that

$`e^{S^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)/2}|0(ϵ)`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{exp}\left\{{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}\left[\left(N_b^{(\sigma )}\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{tanh}^2ϵ(p)\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{cosh}^2ϵ(p)\right)+(b\overline{b})\right]\right\}|0(ϵ)`$ (A.5)
$`=`$ $`\mathrm{exp}\{{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{tanh}ϵ(p)N_b^{(\sigma )}\}\mathrm{exp}\{{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{cosh}ϵ(p)\}\times (b\overline{b})|0(ϵ).`$ (A.6)
By noting that

$`\mathrm{exp}\{{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{tanh}ϵ(p)N_b^{(\sigma )}\}|0(ϵ)`$ $`=`$ $`|0(ϵ),`$ (A.7)
$`\mathrm{exp}\{{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{cosh}ϵ(p)\}|0(ϵ)`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}\mathrm{cosh}^1ϵ(p)|0(ϵ),`$ (A.8)
and similarly for antiparticles, one gets

$$e^{S^{(\sigma )}(ϵ)/2}|0(ϵ)=\left[\underset{p}{}\mathrm{cosh}^2ϵ(p)\right]|0(ϵ).$$
(A.9)
Now we are in the position to prove Eq. (IV.2). Eq. (III.2) can be rewritten as

$$|0_M=\underset{\sigma }{}\underset{p}{}\left(1+\mathrm{}+\frac{1}{n!}\mathrm{tanh}^nϵ(p)b_p^{(\sigma )}\overline{b}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}+\mathrm{}\right)\left[\underset{p}{}\mathrm{cosh}^2ϵ(p)\right]|0(ϵ),$$
(A.10)
and by using Eqs. (A.9) and (A.3), one obtains

$$|0_M=\left(e^{S^{(+)}/2}e^{_\sigma _pb_p^{(\sigma )}\overline{b}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}}e^{S^{(+)}/2}\right)\left[e^{S^{(+)}/2}|0(ϵ)\right],$$
(A.11)
similarly with $`S^{()}`$, q.e.d. .

Let us now prove that the coefficients $`W_n`$ in Eq. (III.7) are given by Eq. (III.8). At this end, we recast the vacuum (IV.2) in the form

$`|0_M`$ $`=`$ $`e^{S^{(+)}/2}{\displaystyle \underset{n_p=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}\left[|n_p^{(+)},\overline{0}|0,\overline{n}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{()}+|0,\overline{n}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(+)}|n_p^{()},\overline{0}\right]`$ (A.12)
$``$ $`e^{S^{(+)}/2}{\displaystyle \underset{n_p=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}{\displaystyle \underset{\sigma =\pm }{}}|n_p^{(\sigma )};\overline{n}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )},`$ (A.13)
where, according to the notation introduced after Eq. (III.5) and in Eq. (III.7), $`n=\overline{n}`$, and

$`{\displaystyle \underset{\sigma =\pm }{}}|n_p^{(\sigma )};\overline{n}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}|\mathrm{Entangled}_{n_p}.`$

Hence,

$`|0_M`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{n_p=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}e^{_p^{}[n_p^{}\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{sinh}ϵ(p^{})(1+n_p^{})\mathrm{ln}\mathrm{cosh}ϵ(p^{})]}{\displaystyle \underset{\sigma =\pm }{}}|n_p^{(\sigma )};\overline{n}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}`$ (A.14)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{n_p=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}{\displaystyle \underset{p}{}}\mathrm{tanh}^{n_p}ϵ(p)\mathrm{cosh}^1ϵ(p){\displaystyle \underset{\sigma =\pm }{}}|n_p^{(\sigma )};\overline{n}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )}`$ (A.15)
$`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{n_p=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}}\sqrt{W_{n_p}}{\displaystyle \underset{\sigma =\pm }{}}|n_p^{(\sigma )};\overline{n}_{\stackrel{~}{p}}^{(\sigma )},`$ (A.16)
which proves Eq. (III.8).

APPENDIX B: The Rindler Space-Time

In this Appendix we apply the formalism developed in Secs. IV and V to the Rindler space-time , corresponding to an observer moving with constant acceleration $`a`$. This space-time is described by the line element (see for example )

$$ds^2=e^{2a\xi }(d\tau ^2d\xi ^2)dy^2dz^2,$$
(B.1)
which reduces to Minkowski space-time letting

$$t=\frac{e^{a\xi }}{a}\mathrm{sinh}a\tau ,x=\frac{e^{a\xi }}{a}\mathrm{cosh}a\tau .$$
(B.2)
This metric covers a portion of Minkowski space-time with $`x>|t|`$. The boundary planes are determined by $`x\pm t=0`$ . Davies  and Unruh  have shown that the vacuum state for an inertial observer is a canonical ensemble for the Rindler observer. The temperature $`T_R`$ characterizing this ensemble is related to the acceleration of the observer by the relation

$$T_R=\frac{a}{2\pi }.$$
(B.3)
This is the thermalization theorem, in a nutshell (for a review see ).

The proper volume is given by

$$V_{\mathrm{prop}}=\sqrt{g_{\xi \xi }g_{yy}g_{zz}}𝑑\xi 𝑑y𝑑z=_{\mathrm{}}^0e^{a\xi }𝑑\xi 𝑑y𝑑z=\frac{𝒜}{a},$$
(B.4)
where $`𝒜=𝑑y𝑑z`$ is the area of a surface of constant $`\xi `$ and $`\tau `$. The entropy density is computed for a cutoff on the momenta $`k_Cl_P^1`$, and is given by

$$s^{(+)}(ϵ)_M=\frac{ak_C^2}{48\pi ^2}.$$
(B.5)
Hence, the entropy computed in the volume $`V_{\mathrm{prop}}`$, by considering that $`Ta`$ in the Unruh effect (see Eq. (B.3)), is given by

$$S^{(+)}(ϵ)_M\frac{𝒜}{l_P^2}.$$
(B.6)
Thus, also in the Rindler case the entropy is proportional to the area of the event horizon (a result also obtained in Ref. ), and bounded from above.

It is worth to note that in the case of Rindler space-time, results are formally equivalent to the Schwarzschild geometry since the surface gravity of the black hole is the gravitational acceleration at radius $`r`$ measured at the infinity.