Entanglement entropy in critical phenomena and analog models of quantum gravity

A general geometrical structure of the entanglement entropy for spatial partition of a relativistic QFT system is established by using methods of the effective gravity action and the spectral geometry. A special attention is payed to the subleading terms in the entropy in different dimensions and to behavior in different states. It is conjectured, on the base of relation between the entropy and the action, that in a fundamental theory the ground state entanglement entropy per unit area equals 1/(4G_N), where G_N is the Newton constant in the low-energy gravity sector of the theory. The conjecture opens a new avenue in analogue gravity models. For instance, in higher-dimensional condensed matter systems, which near a critical point are described by relativistic QFT’s, the entanglement entropy density defines an effective gravitational coupling. By studying the properties of this constant one can get new insights in quantum gravity phenomena, such as the universality of the low-energy physics, the renormalization group behavior of G_N, the statistical meaning of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy.