Horizon Thermodynamics and Gravitational Field Equations in Quasi-Topological Gravity (1404.0260v1)

Abstract: In this paper we show that the gravitational field equations of $(n+1)$% -dimensional topological black holes with constant horizon curvature, in cubic and quartic quasi-topological gravity, can be recast in the form of the first law of thermodynamics, $dE=TdS-PdV$, at the black hole horizon. This procedure leads to extract an expression for the horizon entropy as well as the energy (mass) in terms of the horizon radius, which coincide exactly with those obtained in quasi-topological gravity by solving the field equations and using the Wald's method. We also argue that this approach is powerful and can be extended to all higher order quasi-topological gravity for extracting the corresponding entropy and energy in terms of horizon radius.