From Quantum Relative Entropy to the Semiclassical Einstein Equations

View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:We provide arguments indicating that the semiclassical Einstein equations follow from quantum relative entropy and its proportionality to an area variation. Using modular theory, we establish that the relative entropy between the vacuum state and coherent excitations of a scalar quantum field on a bifurcate Killing horizon is given by the energy flux across the horizon. Under the assumption of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy-area formula, this energy flux is proportional to a variation in the surface area of the horizon cross section. The semiclassical Einstein equations follow automatically from this identification. Our approach provides a quantum field theoretic generalization of Jacobson's thermodynamic derivation of the Einstein equations, replacing classical thermodynamic entropy with the well-defined quantum relative (Araki-Uhlmann) entropy. This suggests that quantum information plays a central role in what is often seen as a zeroth order approximation of a theory of quantum gravity, namely quantum field theory in curved spacetimes. Comments: 6 pages, 1 figure, v3: minor clarifications Subjects: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th); General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc); Mathematical Physics (math-ph); Quantum Physics (quant-ph) Cite as: arXiv:2510.24491 [hep-th] (or arXiv:2510.24491v3 [hep-th] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2510.24491 arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Journal reference: Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 091602 (2026) Related DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/lmq8-nsty DOI(s) linking to related resources Submission history From: Philipp Dorau [view email] [v1] Tue, 28 Oct 2025 15:05:57 UTC (36 KB) [v2] Tue, 11 Nov 2025 14:55:45 UTC (56 KB) [v3] Tue, 3 Mar 2026 14:16:25 UTC (57 KB)