Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary term

proper noun

In general relativity, a term that needs to be added to the Einstein-Hilbert action when the underlying spacetime manifold has a boundary.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. natural sciencesIn general relativity, a term that needs to be added to the Einstein-Hilbert action when the underlying spacetime manifold has a boundary.

Origin

The necessity of such a boundary term was first realised by James W. York and later refined in a minor way by Gary Gibbons and Stephen Hawking.

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Cite this entry
APA

Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary term. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gibbons-Hawking-York%20boundary%20term

MLA

“Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary term.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gibbons-Hawking-York%20boundary%20term. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary term,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Gibbons-Hawking-York%20boundary%20term.

Source: Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary term on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.