Modern astrophysical and cosmological models are faced with two severe theoretical difficulties, that can be summarized as the dark energy and the dark matter problems. Relative to the former, it has been stated that cosmology has entered a 'golden age', in which high-precision observational data have confirmed with startling evidence that the Universe is undergoing a phase of accelerated expansion. Several candidates, responsible for this expansion, have been proposed in the literature, in particular, dark energy models and modified gravity, amongst others. One is liable to ask: What is the so-called 'dark energy' that is driving the acceleration of the universe? Is it a vacuum energy or a dynamical field (''quintessence'')? Or is the acceleration due to infra-red modifications of Einstein's theory of General Relativity? In the context of dark matter, two observations, namely, the behavior of the galactic rotation curves and the mass discrepancy in galactic clusters, suggest the existence of a (non or weakly interacting) form of dark matter at galactic and extra-galactic scales. It has also been proposed that modified gravity can explain the galactic dynamics without the need of introducing dark matter. We briefly review some of the modified theories of gravity that address these two intriguing and exciting problems facing modern physics.
The equation of motion for test particles in $f(R)$ modified theories of gravity is derived. By considering an explicit coupling between an arbitrary function of the scalar curvature, $R$, and the Lagrangian density of matter, it is shown that an extra force arises. This extra force is orthogonal to the four-velocity and the corresponding acceleration law is obtained in the weak field limit. Connections with MOND and with the Pioneer anomaly are further discussed.
We define a "holographic limit" of Lancsoz-Lovelock theories at the Lagrangian level which gives three-dimensional modified gravity theories. We also show that this limit applies to more general classes of theories in higher dimensions provided that they admit the holographic c-theorem.
We show that field equations of some typical modified gravity theories can be recast as thermodynamic first law on dynamical holographic screens. The thermodynamic second law are also presented.
We consider alternative theories of gravity with a direct coupling between matter and the Ricci scalar We study the relation between these theories and ordinary scalar-tensor gravity, or scalar-tensor theories which include non-standard couplings between the scalar and matter. We then analyze the motion of matter in such theories, its implications for the Equivalence Principle, and the recent claim that they can alleviate the dark matter problem in galaxies.
This thesis is devoted to the study of gravitational theories which can be seen as modifications or generalisations of General Relativity. The motivation for considering such theories, stemming from Cosmology, High Energy Physics and Astrophysics is thoroughly discussed (cosmological problems, dark energy and dark matter problems, the lack of success so far in obtaining a successful formulation for Quantum Gravity). The basic principles which a gravitational theory should follow, and their geometrical interpretation, are analysed in a broad perspective which highlights the basic assumptions of…
We review the current status of the Lorentz covariance in teleparallel and modified teleparallel theories of gravity, and discuss the controversial features of the different approaches. We also revisit the issue of the remnant Lorentz gauge symmetries in $f(T)$ gravity.
We consider theories that modify gravity at cosmological distances, and show that any such theory must exhibit a strong coupling phenomenon, or else it is either inconsistent or is already ruled out by the solar system observations. We show that all the ghost-free theories that modify dynamics of spin-2 graviton on asymptotically flat backgrounds, automatically have this property. Due to the strong coupling effect, modification of the gravitational force is source-dependent, and for lighter sources sets in at shorter distances. This universal feature makes modified gravity theories predictive …
Any viable theory of modified Newtonian dynamcs (MOND) as modified gravity is likely to require fields in addition to the usual tensor field of General Relativity. For such theories the MOND phenomenology emerges from an effective fifth force probably associated with a scalar field. Here I consider the constraints imposed upon such theories by solar system phenomenology, primarily by the absence of significant deviations from inverse square attraction in the inner solar system as well as detectable local preferred frame effects. The current examples of multi-field theories can be constructed t…
In modified gravity, the one-loop matter power spectrum exhibits an ultraviolet divergence as shown in the framework of the degenerate higher-order scalar-tensor theory. To address this problem, we extend the effective field theory of large scale structure to modified gravity theories. We find that new counterterms appear and renormalize the ultraviolet divergence as a natural consequence of non-linearity in the modified Poisson equation. The renormalized one-loop matter power spectrum is useful to test modified gravity theories by comparing to observations.
We consider the variational principle in the covariant formulation of modified teleparallel theories with second order field equations. We vary the action with respect to the spin connection and obtain a consistency condition relating the spin connection with the tetrad. We argue that since the spin connection can be calculated using an additional reference tetrad, modified teleparallel theories can be interpreted as effectively bigravity theories. We conclude with discussion about the relation of our results and those obtained in the usual, non-covariant, formulation of teleparallel theories …
Modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) can be obtained by modifying the entropic formulation of gravity, this is achieved by considering the quantum statistical nature of the degrees of freedom on the holographic screen. Through this frame work, we find some constraints on a cosmological extension for MOND, with no additional auxiliary fields. The connections between MOND to conformal gravity and Rindler force gravity are examined. These two alternative gravity theories are subsequently considered as possible cosmological extensions of MOND.
We investigate the Hamiltonian structure of a class of gravitational theories whose actions are linear in the lapse function. We derive the necessary and sufficient condition for a theory in this class to have two or less local physical degrees of freedom. As an application we then find several concrete examples of modified gravity theories in which the total number of local physical degrees of freedom in the gravity sector is two.
We calculate parameters in the low energy gravitational effective action and the entanglement entropy in a wide class of theories characterized by improved ultraviolet (UV) behavior. These include i) local and non-local Lorentz invariant theories in which inverse propagator is modified by higher-derivative terms and ii) theories described by non-Lorentz invariant Lifshitz type field operators. We demonstrate that the induced cosmological constant, gravitational couplings and the entropy are sensitive to the way the theory is modified in UV. For non-Lorentz invariant theories the induced gravit…
Born-Infeld strategy to smooth theories having divergent solutions is applied to teleparallel equivalent of General Relativity. Differing from other theories of modified gravity, modified teleparallelism leads to second order equations, since teleparallel Lagrangian only contains first derivatives of the vierbein. We show that Born-Infeld-modified teleparallelism solves the particle horizon problem in a spatially flat FRW universe by providing an initial exponential expansion without resorting to an inflaton field.
We study the procedure that allows to rewrite the actions of some modified gravity theories like mimetic gravity and Regge-Teitelboim embedding theory as Einstein-Hilbert actions with additional matter contributions. It turns out that this procedure can be applied to brane action, which lead to a polynomial brane action. We also examine the connection between this procedure and Polyakov trick in string theory.
We propose further conformal parametrizations for initial data in some modified Einstein gravity theories. Some of them give rise to conformally covariant systems.
We systematically review some standard issues and also the latest developments of modified gravity in cosmology, emphasizing on inflation, bouncing cosmology and late-time acceleration era. Particularly, we present the formalism of standard modified gravity theory representatives, like $F(R)$, $F(\mathcal{G})$ and $F(T)$ gravity theories, but also several alternative theoretical proposals which appeared in the literature during the last decade. We emphasize on the formalism developed for these theories and we explain how these theories can be considered as viable descriptions for our Universe.…
This MSc thesis is divided in to two parts. The first, covers the foundations of theories of gravitation, and, the second incorporates original work on the subject of the existence of traversable wormholes in $f(R)$ modified theories of gravity. A short incursion in the field of scalar-tensor theories had to be made, owing to an apparent inconsistency in the result previously found.
We derive an expression for the luminosity distance as a function of redshift for a flat Robertson-Walker spacetime perturbed by arbitrary scalar perturbations possibly produced by a modified gravity theory with two different scalar perturbation potentials. Measurements of the luminosity distance as function of redshift provide a constraint on a combination of the scalar potentials and so they can complement weak lensing and other measurements in trying to distinguish among the various alternative theories of gravity.
We show that, within modified gravity, the non-linear nature of the field equations implies that the usual naive averaging procedure (replacing the microscopic energy-momentum by its cosmological average) is invalid. We discuss then how the averaging should be performed correctly and show that, as a consequence, at classical level the physical masses and geodesics of particles, cosmology and astrophysics in Palatini modified gravity theories are all indistinguishable from the results of general relativity plus a cosmological constant. Palatini gravity is however a different theory from general…
We study the process of quantum tunnelling in scalar-tensor theories in which the scalar field is non-minimally coupled to gravity. In these theories gravitational instantons can deviate substantially from sphericity and can in fact develop a neck - a feature prohibited in theories with minimal coupling. Such instantons with necks lead to the materialisation of bubble geometries containing a wormhole region. We clarify the relationship of neck geometries to violations of the null energy condition, and also derive a bound on the size of the neck relative to that of the instanton.
Rainbow metrics are a widely used approach to metric formalism for theories with Modified Dispersion Relations. They have had a huge success in the Quantum Gravity Phenomenology literature, since they allow to introduce momentum-dependent spacetime metrics into the description of systems with Modified Dispersion Relation. In this paper, we introduce the reader to some realizations of this general idea: the original Rainbow metrics proposal, the momentum-space-inspired metric, the standard Finsler geometry approach and our alternative definition of a four-velocity-dependent metric with a massle…
A general formalism to find the density profile of a slowly rotating stellar object in modified gravity is presented. We derive a generic Lane-Emden equation and its analytical solution for a wide class of modified theories of gravity.
We review thermodynamic properties of modified gravity theories such as $F(R)$ gravity and $f(T)$ gravity, where $R$ is the scalar curvature and $T$ is the torsion scalar in teleparallelism. In particular, we explore the equivalence between the equations of motion for modified gravity theories and the Clausius relation in thermodynamics. In addition, thermodynamics of the cosmological apparent horizon is investigated in $f(T)$ gravity. We show both equilibrium and non-equilibrium descriptions of thermodynamics. It is demonstrated that the second law of thermodynamics in the universe can be met…
Along this review, we focus on the study of several properties of modified gravity theories, in particular on black-hole solutions and its comparison with those solutions in General Relativity, and on Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker metrics. The thermodynamical properties of fourth order gravity theories are also a subject of this investigation with special attention on local and global stability of paradigmatic f(R) models. In addition, we revise some attempts to extend the Cardy-Verlinde formula, including modified gravity, where a relation between entropy bounds is obtained. Moreover, a…
In this contribution to the conference "Beyond Einstein: Historical Perspectives on Geometry, Gravitation and Cosmology in the Twentieth Century", we give a critical status report of attempts to explain the late accelerated expansion of the universe by modifications of general relativity. Our brief review of such alternatives to the standard cosmological model addresses mainly readers who have not pursued the vast recent literature on this subject.
The Kerr-Schild-Kundt (KSK) metrics are known to be one of the universal metrics in general relativity, which means that they solve the vacuum field equations of any gravity theory constructed from the curvature tensor and its higher-order covariant derivatives. There is yet no complete proof that these metrics are universal in the presence of matter fields such as electromagnetic and/or scalar fields. In order to get some insight into what happens when we extend the "universality theorem" to the case in which the electromagnetic field is present, as a first step, we study the KSK class of met…
In this paper we obtain the entropy of the Kerr black hole for a number of modified theories of gravity. We show that as long as the deviation from Einstein Hilbert term consists purely of terms involving scalar curvature and Ricci tensor, the entropy is solely given by the area law. However, the area law will be modified by appropriate corrections when we consider terms involving Riemann tensor explicitly.
We present a brief overview of the stability analysis of the Einstein static universe in various modified theories of gravity, like f(R) gravity, Gauss-Bonnet or f(G) gravity, and Horava-Lifshitz gravity.
We study the dynamics of a modified-gravity theory, which is supplemented by an extended Gibbons-Hawking-York boundary term and incorporates diffeomorphism violation through nondynamical background fields denoted as $u$ and $s^{μν}$ in the literature. An ADM decomposition allows us to project the modified Einstein equations into purely spacelike hypersurfaces, which implies the field equations for the induced dynamical three-metric. We also obtain the Hamilton-Jacobi equations of motion for the canonical variables of the theory based on its Hamiltonian, which was derived in a previous work. Th…
Teleparallel theory of gravity and its modifications have been studied extensively in literature. However, gravitational waves has not been studied enough in the framework of teleparallelism. In the present study, we discuss gravitational waves in general theories of teleparallel gravity containing the torsion scalar $T$, the boundary term $B$ and a scalar field $ϕ$. The goal is to classify possible new polarizations generalizing results presented in Ref.[15]. We show that, if the boundary term is minimally coupled to the torsion scalar and the scalar field, gravitational waves have the same p…
Modified theories of gravity usually present new degrees of freedom, as well as higher order derivatives, wrong signs in certain terms and complicated couplings already present in the Lagrangian from the beginning or originated by the field redefinitions needed to reach an Einstein frame. As a consequence, they are very prone to present dynamical instabilities that could spoil any attempt to construct viable models within these frameworks. In these three lectures we introduce the most common types of instabilities that appear in field theory as well as some techniques to detect them, and suppl…
We discuss class of doubled geometry models with diagonal metrics. Based on the analysis of known examples we formulate a hypothesis that supports treating them as modified bimetric gravity theories. Certain steps towards the generic case are then performed.
This article reviews scalar-tensor theories characterized by a Lagrangian that, despite the presence of second order derivatives, contain a single scalar degree of freedom. These theories, known as Degenerate Higher-Order Scalar-Tensor (DHOST) theories, include Horndeski and Beyond Horndeski theories. They propagate a single scalar mode as a consequence of the degeneracy of their Lagrangian and, therefore, are not plagued by an Ostrodradsky instability. They have been fully classified up to cubic order in second-order derivatives. The study of their phenomenological consequences restricts the …
The aim of this note is to describe the computation of post-Minkwoskian Hamiltonians in modified theories of gravity. Exploiting a recent relation between amplitudes of massive scalars and Hamiltonians for relativistic point-particles, we define a post-Minkowskian potential at second order in Newton's constant arising from $\mathcal{R}^3$ modifications in General Relativity. Using this result we calculate the associated contribution to the scattering angle for binary black holes at second post-Minkowskian order, showing agreement in the non relativistic limit with previous results for the bend…
We investigate the future evolution of the dark energy universe in modified gravities including $F(R)$ gravity, string-inspired scalar-Gauss-Bonnet and modified Gauss-Bonnet ones, and ideal fluid with the inhomogeneous equation of state (EoS). Modified Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) dynamics for all these theories may be presented in universal form by using the effective ideal fluid with an inhomogeneous EoS without specifying its explicit form. We construct several examples of the modified gravity which produces accelerating cosmologies ending at the finite-time future singularity of all fo…
We study Bertrand space-times (BSTs), which have been proposed as viable models of space-times seeded by galactic dark matter, in modified theories of gravity. We first critically examine the issue of galactic rotation curves in General Relativity, and establish the usefulness of BSTs to fit experimental data in this context. We then study BSTs in metric $f(R)$ gravity and in Brans-Dicke theories. For the former, the nature of the Newtonian potential is established, and we also compute the effective equation of state and show that it can provide good fits to some recent experimental results. F…
The Newman-Janis algorithm has been widely used to construct rotating black hole solutions from non-rotating counterparts. While this algorithm was developed within General Relativity, it has more recently been applied to non-rotating solutions in modified gravity theories. We find that the application of the Newman-Janis algorithm to an arbitrary non-GR spherically-symmetric solution introduces pathologies in the resulting axially-symmetric metric. This then establishes that, in general, the Newman-Janis algorithm should not used to construct rotating black hole solutions outside of General R…
In four space-time dimensions, there exists a special infinite-parameter family of chiral modified gravity theories. All these theories describe just two propagating polarizations of the graviton. General Relativity with an arbitrary cosmological constant is the only parity-invariant member of this family. We review how these modified gravity theories arise within the framework of pure-connection formulation. We introduce a new convenient parametrisation of this family of theories by using certain set of auxiliary fields. Modifications of General Relativity can be arranged so as to become impo…
We derive the equations of motion of an electrically neutral test particle for modified gravity theories in which the covariant divergence of the ordinary matter energy-momentum tensor dose not vanish (i.e. $\nabla_μT^{μν}\neq0$). In fact, we generalize the Mathisson-Papapetrou equations by deriving a general form for the equations of motion of a test particle. Furthermore, using the generalized Mathisson-Papapetrou equations, we investigate the equations of motion of a pole-dipole (spinning) particle in the context of Modified Gravity (MOG).
In this work we study how nonminimally coupled theories of gravity modify the usual Friedmann equation, and develop two methods to treat these. The ambiguity in the form of the Lagrangian density of a perfect fluid is emphasized, and the impact of different dominant matter species is assessed. The Cosmological Constant problem is also discussed.
We investigate modified theories of gravity in the context of teleparallel geometries. It is well known that modified gravity models based on the torsion scalar are not invariant under local Lorentz transformations while modifications based on the Ricci scalar are. This motivates the study of a model depending on the torsion scalar and the divergence of the torsion vector. We derive the teleparallel equivalent of $f(R)$ gravity as a particular subset of these models and also show that this is the unique theory in this class that is invariant under local Lorentz transformation. Furthermore one …
We study braneworld models in the presence of scalar field in a five-dimensional geometry with a single extra dimension of infinite extent, with gravity modified to include a function of the Ricci scalar. We develop a procedure that allows to obtain analytical solution for the braneworld configuration in a diversity of models, in the much harder case where the Ricci scalar is non constant quantity.
We investigate modified theories of gravity in the context of teleparallel geometries with possible Gauss-Bonnet contributions. The possible coupling of gravity with the trace of the energy-momentum tensor is also taken into account. This is motivated by the various different theories formulated in the teleparallel approach and the metric approach without discussing the exact relationship between them. Our formulation clarifies the connections between different well known theories. For instance, we are able to formulate the correct teleparallel equivalent of Gauss-Bonnet modified general relat…
In this note, we discuss the gravitational memory effect in higher derivative and infinite derivative gravity theories and give the detailed relevant calculations whose results were given in our recent works. We show that the memory effect in higher derivative gravity takes the same form as in pure GR at large distances, whereas at small distances, the results are different. We also demonstrated that, in infinite derivative gravity, the memory is reduced via error function as compared to Einstein's gravity. For the lower bound on the mass scale of non-locality, the memory is essentially reprod…
We study the matter density perturbations in modified teleparallel gravity theories, where extra degrees of freedom arise from the local Lorentz violation in the tangent space. We formulate a vierbein perturbation with variables addressing all the 16 components of the vierbein field. By assuming the perfect fluid matter source, we examine the cosmological implication of the 6 unfamiliar new degrees of freedom in modified $f(T)$ gravity theories. We find that despite the new modes in the vierbein scenario provide no explicit significant effect in the small-scale regime, they exhibit some deviat…
The paper deals with universal thermodynamics for FRW model of the universe bounded by apparent (or event) horizon. Assuming Hawking temperature on the horizon, the unified first law is examined on the horizon for different gravity theories. The results show that equilibrium configuration is preserved with a modification to Bekenstein entropy on the horizon.
Building on previous work, we re-examine the possibility of testing MOdified Newtonian Dynamics near the saddle points of gravitational potentials in the Solar System, through an extension of the forthcoming LISA Pathfinder mission. We extend present analysis to include quasi-linear formulations of these theories, resulting from fully relativistic modified gravity theories. Using similar quantitative and qualitative tools, we demonstrate that in general, both the instrumental response and typical Signal to Noise Ratios for such a test will be different. Finally we investigate constraints from …
Theories of dark energy and modified gravity can be strongly constrained by astrophysical or cosmological observations, as illustrated by the recent observation of the gravitational wave event GW170817 and of its electromagnetic counterpart GRB 170817A, which shows that the speed of gravitational waves, $c_g$, is the same as the speed of light, within deviations of order $10^{-15}$. This observation implies very severe restrictions on scalar-tensor theories, in particular theories whose action depends on second derivatives of a scalar field. Working in the very general framework of Degenerate …
We present the supersymmetric completion of the auxiliary vector modified polynomial $f(R)$ theories in their dual scalar-tensor theory formulation that interpolate between the auxiliary vector modified polynomial $f(R)$ theories and chaotic inflation with the power-law potential $V(ϕ) \propto ϕ^p$. The supersymmetrization is achieved in two steps: First, we introduce a superconformal theory for three chiral multiplets by choosing a conformal Kähler potential and a conformal superpotential. In the second step, we use one of the chiral multiplets to compensate for the superconformal symmetries …
The entropy of black holes in modified theories of gravity is examined in the Palatini formalism using the Noether Charge approach. It is shown that, if the gravitational coupling constant is properly identified, the entropy of a black hole is one-quarter of the horizon area in f(R) theories coupled to conformally invariant matter. If matter is present that is not conformally invariant the entropy is still proportional to the area of the black hole, but the coefficient is generally not one-quarter. The entropy of black holes in generalized dilaton theories and in theories with Lagrangians that…
Minimally modified gravity theories are modifications of general relativity with two local gravitational degrees of freedom in four dimensions. Their construction relies on the breaking of 4D diffeomorphism invariance keeping however the symmetry under 3D diffeomorphisms. Here, we construct these theories from a Hamiltonian point of view. We start with the phase space of general relativity in the ADM formalism. Then, we find the conditions that the Hamiltonian must satisfy for the theory to propagate (up to) two gravitational degrees of freedom with the assumptions that the lapse and the shift…
In this work, we construct traversable wormhole geometries in the context of f(R) modified theories of gravity. We impose that the matter threading the wormhole satisfies the energy conditions, so that it is the effective stress-energy tensor containing higher order curvature derivatives that is responsible for the null energy condition violation. Thus, the higher order curvature terms, interpreted as a gravitational fluid, sustain these non-standard wormhole geometries, fundamentally different from their counterparts in general relativity. In particular, by considering specific shape function…
The self-consistent matter coupling is found in a broad class of minimally modified gravity theories which was discovered recently. All constraints in the theories remain first class and thus a graviton has only 2 local degrees of freedom. The cosmological solution of one of the examples in this class, the so-called square root gravity, exhibits a singularity freeness at high energy limit. At low energy limit, the theory smoothly connects to GR. A general feature of the theories in this class, with the self-consistent matter coupling discovered in our current work, is the non-trivial interacti…
In this work, we illustrate through a simple example the possibility of testing the chameleon screening mechanism in the Solar System using the forthcoming LISA Pathfinder mission around gravitational saddle points. We find distinctive tidal stress signatures for such models and consider the potential for constraints.
Recently we have derived a set of mapping relations that enables the reconstruction of the family of Horndeski scalar-tensor theories which reproduce the background dynamics and linear perturbations of a given set of effective field theory of dark energy coefficients. In this paper we present a number of applications of this reconstruction. We examine the form of the underlying theories behind different phenomenological parameterizations of modified gravity and dark energy used in the literature, as well as examine theories that exhibit weak gravity, linear shielding, and minimal self-accelera…
We address the possibility of taking advantage of high accuracy gravitational space experiments in the Solar System and complementary cosmological tests to distinguish between the usual general relativistic theory from the alternative modified Newtonian dynamics paradigm.
In the recent years, a host of modified gravity models have been proposed as alternatives to the dark energy. A quantum theory of gravity also requires to modify `General Theory of Relativity'. In the present article, we consider five different modified theories of gravity, and compare inflationary parameters with recent data sets released by two Planck collaboration teams. Our analysis reveals that the scalar-tensor theory of gravity is the best alternative.
In the past few decades, various versions of modified gravity theories were proposed to mimic the effect of dark matter. Compared with the conventional Newtonian or relativistic dynamics, these theories contain some extra apparent force terms in the dynamical equations to replace the role of dark matter. Generally speaking, the extra apparent force terms usually scale with radius so that the effect would be significant only on large scale to explain the missing mass in galaxies or galaxy clusters. Nevertheless, the apparent effect may still be observable in small structures like the solar syst…
