We study a general class of gravitational theories formulated in the Palatini approach and derive the equations governing the evolution of tensor perturbations. In the absence of torsion, the connection can be solved as the Christoffel symbols of an auxiliary metric which is non-trivially related to the space-time metric. We then consider background solutions corresponding to a perfect fluid and show that the tensor perturbations equations (including anisotropic stresses) for the auxiliary metric around such a background take an Einstein-like form. This facilitates the study in a homogeneous and isotropic cosmological scenario where we explicitly establish the relation between the auxiliary metric and the space-time metric tensor perturbations. As a general result, we show that both tensor perturbations coincide in the absence of anisotropic stresses.
We derive the gravitational energy-momentum pseudo-tensor $τ^μ_{\phantomμν}$ in both Palatini and metric approaches to $f(R)$ gravity. We then obtain the related cosmological gravitational energy density. Considering a flat Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker spacetime, the energy density complex of matter and gravitation vanishes in the metric approach, but results non-vanishing in the Palatini formalism. This feature could be relevant in order to physically discriminate between the two approaches.
We compare Mercury's precession test in standard General Relativity (GR), Brans-Dicke theories (BD), and Palatini f(R)-theories. We avoid post Newtonian (PN) approximation and compute exact precession in these theories. We show that the well-known mathematical equivalence between Palatini f(R)-theories and a specific subset of BD theories does not extend to a really physical equivalence among theories since equivalent models still allow different incompatible precession for Mercury depending on the solution one chooses. As a result one cannot use BD equivalence to rule out Palatini f(R)-theori…
A variational principle was recently suggested by Goenner, where an independent metric generates the spacetime connection. It is pointed out here that the resulting theory is equivalent to the usual Palatini theory. However, a bimetric reformulation of the variational principle leads to theories which are physically distinct from both the metric and the metric-affine ones, even for the Einstein-Hilbert action. They are obtained at a decoupling limit of C-theories, which contain also other viable generalizations of the Palatini theories.
We disclose remarkable features of the scalar-tensor theory with the derivative coupling of the scalar field to the curvature in the Palatini formalism. Using the disformal transformations, we show that this theory is free from Otrogradski ghosts. For a special relation between two coupling constants, it is disformally dual to the Einstein gravity minimally coupled to the scalar, which opens the way to constructing several exact solutions. The disformal transformation degenerates at the boundary of the physical region, near which the properties of desingularization are revealed, illustrated by…
We examine the generation of primordial perturbations during an inflationary epoch in generalised theories of gravity when the equations of motion are derived using the Palatini variational principle. Both f(R) and Scalar-Tensor theories are considered and we compare our results with those obtained under the conventional metric formalism. Non-linear generalisations of the action lead to different theories under the two variational choices and we obtain distinct results for scalar and tensor spectral indices and their ratio. We find the following general result; inflation driven solely by f(R) …
A class of scalar-tensor theories (STT) including a non-metricity that unifies metric, Palatini and hybrid metric-Palatini gravitational actions with non-minimal interaction is proposed and investigated from the point of view of their consistency with generalized conformal transformations. It is shown that every such theory can be represented on-shell by a purely metric STT possessing the same solutions for a metric and a scalar field. A set of generalized invariants is also proposed. This extends the formalism previously introduced in \cite{kozak2019}. We then apply the formalism to Starobins…
It is known that in f(R) theories of gravity with an independent connection which can be both non-metric and non symmetric, this connection can always be algebraically eliminated in favour of the metric and the matter fields, so long as it is not coupled to the matter explicitly. We show here that this is a special characteristic of f(R) actions, and it is not true for actions that include other curvature invariants. This contradicts some recent claims in the literature. We clarify the reasons of this contradiction.
With a scalar field non-minimally coupled to curvature, the underlying geometry and variational principle of gravity - metric or Palatini - becomes important and makes a difference, as the field dynamics and observational predictions generally depend on this choice. In the present paper we describe a classification principle which encompasses both metric and Palatini models of inflation, employing the fact that inflationary observables can be neatly expressed in terms of certain quantities which remain invariant under conformal transformations and scalar field redefinitions. This allows us to …
We consider a novel class of $f(\R)$ gravity theories where the connection is related to the conformally scaled metric $\hat g_{μν}=C(\R)g_{μν}$ with a scaling that depends on the scalar curvature $\R$ only. We call them C-theories and show that the Einstein and Palatini gravities can be obtained as special limits. In addition, C-theories include completely new physically distinct gravity theories even when $f(\R)=\R$. With nonlinear $f(\R)$, C-theories interpolate and extrapolate the Einstein and Palatini cases and may avoid some of their conceptual and observational problems. We further show…
We formulate quantum field theories of massive fields of arbitrary spins. The presence of both physical and fake particles, organized into multiplets, makes it possible to fulfill the requirements of locality, unitarity and renormalizability at the same time. The theories admit cubic and quartic self-interactions and can be coupled to quantum gravity and gauge fields. The simplest irreducible bosonic and fermionic multiplets are made of towers of alternating physical and fake particles. Their mass spectrum is constrained by RG invariant relations and depends on just one or two masses. The fixe…
We investigate the thick brane model in Palatini $f(\mathcal{R})$ gravity. The brane is generated by a real scalar field with a scalar potential. We solve the system analytically and obtain a series of thick brane solutions for the $f(\mathcal{R})=\mathcal{R}+α\mathcal{R}^2$-brane model. It is shown that tensor perturbations of the metric are stable for $df({\mathcal{R}})/d{\mathcal{R}}>0$. For nonconstant curvature solutions, the graviton zero mode can be localized on the brane, which indicates that the four-dimensional gravity can be recovered on the brane. Mass spectrum of graviton KK modes…
We consider several physical scenarios where black holes within classical gravity theories including $R^2$ and Ricci-squared corrections and formulated à la Palatini can be analytically studied.
In $f(R)$ extensions of General Relativity the Palatini approach provides ghost-free theories with second-order field equations and allows to obtain charged black hole solutions which depart from the standard Reissner-Nordström solution.
We investigate static spherically symmetric solutions in the Palatini kinetically coupled scalar-tensor theory, which reduces to gravity minimally coupled to a scalar field in Einstein frame. Using the fact that the Jordan and Einstein frame are related by a reversible disformal transformation, which can be solved in closed form, we derive the general solution in the Jordan frame and show that it does not contain black holes. There is a wormhole branch and a naked singularity branch between which lies a non-singular asymptotically flat solution with kernel $M_{1,1}\times S^2$. This theory stro…
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 nonlinear gravity theories in both the metric and the Palatini (metric-affine) formalisms. The nonlinear character of the gravity lagrangian in the metric formalism causes the appearance of a scalar source of matter in Einstein's equations that can be interpreted as a quintessence field. However, in the Palatini case no new energy sources appear, though the equations of motion get modified in such a way that usual matter can lead to repulsive gravity at very low densities. Thus, the Palatini formalism could provide a mechanism to explain the recent acceleration of the universe without…
We discuss recent results on the cosmology of extended theories of gravity formulated in the Palatini approach, i.e., assuming that metric and connection are independent fields. In particular, we focus on the attempts to explain the cosmic speedup with f(R) theories and on models that avoid the big bang singularity. The field equations for gravity Lagrangians of the form f(g_{μν},{R^α}_{βμν}) (including torsion) are explicitly derived and discussed.
We present a comparative study of inflation in two theories of quadratic gravity with {\it gauged} scale symmetry: 1) the original Weyl quadratic gravity and 2) the theory defined by a similar action but in the Palatini approach obtained by replacing the Weyl connection by its Palatini counterpart. These theories have different vectorial non-metricity induced by the gauge field ($w_μ$) of this symmetry. Both theories have a novel spontaneous breaking of gauged scale symmetry, in the absence of matter, where the necessary scalar field is not added ad-hoc to this purpose but is of geometric orig…
The so called $f(X)$ hybrid metric-Palatini gravity presents a unique viable generalisation of the $f(R)$ theories within the metric-affine formalism. Here the cosmology of the $f(X)$ theories is studied using the dynamical system approach. The method consists of formulating the propagation equation in terms of suitable (expansion-normalised) variables as an autonomous system. The fixed points of the system then represent exact cosmological solutions described by power-law or de Sitter expansion. The formalism is applied to two classes of $f(X)$ models, revealing both standard cosmological fix…
The equivalence between metric and Palatini formalisms in f(R)-gravity can be achieved in the general context of theories with divergence free current. This equivalence is a necessary result of a symmetry which is included in a particular conservation equation of the current. In fact the conservation equation, by an appropriate redefinition of the introduced auxiliary field, may be encoded in a massless scalar field equation.
If the inflaton and the quintessence fields are identified, the background geometry evolves through a stiff epoch undershooting the expansion rate of a radiation-dominated plasma. For some classes of inflationary potentials this scenario is at odds with the current observational evidence since the corresponding tensor-to-scalar ratio is too large. Quintessential inflation is analyzed when the gravitational action is supplemented by a contribution quadratic in the Einstein-Hilbert term. In the Palatini formulation the addition such a term does not affect the scalar modes during the inflationary…
We show that there exist modified theories of gravity in which the metric satisfies second-order equations and in which the Big Bang singularity is replaced by a cosmic bounce without violating any energy condition. In fact, the bounce is possible even for presureless dust. We give a characterization of such theories, which are formulated in the Palatini formalism, and discuss their dynamics in the region near the bounce. We consider spatially flat and non-flat homogeneous and isotropic universes.
The Palatini formalism is developed for gravitational theories in flat geometries. We focus on two particularly interesting scenarios. First, we fix the connection to be metric compatible, but we follow a completely covariant approach by imposing the constraints with suitable Lagrange multipliers. For a general quadratic theory we show how torsion naturally propagates and we reproduce the Teleparallel Equivalent of General Relativity as a particular quadratic action that features an additional Lorentz symmetry. We then study the much less explored theories formulated in a geometry with neither…
The main objective of this thesis is to discuss scalar-tensor theories in the Palatini approach. Both scalar-tensor theories and Palatini formalism are means of alternating classical theory of gravity, general relativity, in order to account for phenomena being seemingly unexplainable on the ground of the Einstein theory or to serve as toy models used to test limitations of the theory in question. In the literature, both Palatini approach and scalar-tensor theories have been widely discussed, but there are very few - if none - authors writing about a merge of these two ideas. The present paper…
We review the recent literature on modified theories of gravity in the Palatini approach. After discussing the motivations that lead to consider alternatives to Einstein's theory and to treat the metric and the connection as independent objects, we review several topics that have been recently studied within this framework. In particular, we provide an in-depth analysis of the cosmic speedup problem, laboratory and solar systems tests, the structure of stellar objects, the Cauchy problem, and bouncing cosmologies. We also discuss the importance of going beyond the f(R) models to capture other …
The predictions of standard Higgs inflation in the framework of the metric formalism yield a tensor-to-scalar ratio $r \sim 10^{-3}$ which lies well within the expected accuracy of near-future experiments $ \sim 10^{-4}$. When the Palatini formalism is employed, the predicted values of $r$ get highly-suppressed $r\sim 10^{-12}$ and consequently a possible non-detection of primordial tensor fluctuations will rule out only the metric variant of the model. On the other hand, the extremely small values predicted for $r$ by the Palatini approach constitute contact with observations a hopeless task …
We shall investigate the properties of a congruence of geodesics in the framework of Palatini f(R) theories. We shall evaluate the modified geodesic deviation equation and the Raychaudhuri's equation and show that f(R) Palatini theories do not necessarily lead to attractive forces. Also we shall study energy condition for f(R) Palatini gravity via a perturbative analysis of the Raychaudhuri's equation.
A new systematic approach extending the notion of frames to the Palatini scalar-tensor theories of gravity in various dimensions n>2 is proposed. We impose frame transformation induced by the group action which includes almost-geodesic and conformal transformations. We characterize theories invariant with respect to these transformations dividing them up into solution-equivalent subclasses (group orbits). To this end, invariant characteristics have been introduced. Unlike in the metric case, it turns out that the dimension four admitting the largest transformation group is rather special for s…
The so-called hybrid metric-Palatini theory of gravity (HMPG), proposed in 2012 by T. Harko et al., is known to successfully describe both local (solar-system) and cosmological observations. This paper gives a complete description of static, spherically vacuum solutions of HMPG in the simplest case where its scalar-tensor representation has a zero scalar field potential $V(ϕ)$, and both Riemannian ($R$) and Palatini ($\cal R$) Ricci scalars are zero. Such a scalar-tensor theory coincides with general relativity with a phantom conformally coupled scalar field as a source of gravity. Generic asy…
The approach of dynamical systems is a useful tool to investigate the cosmological history that follows from modified theories of gravity. It provides qualitative information on the typical background solutions in a parametrized family of models, through the computation of the fixed points and their characters (attractor, repeller or saddle), allowing, for instance, the knowledge of which regions on the parameter space of the models generate the desired radiation, matter and dark energy dominated eras. However, the traditional proposal for building dynamical systems for an $f(R)$ theory in the…
Charged black holes in gravity theories in the Palatini formalism present a number of unique properties. Their innermost structure is topologically nontrivial, representing a wormhole supported by a sourceless electric flux. For certain values of their effective mass and charge curvature divergences may be absent, and their event horizon may also disappear yielding a remnant. We give an overview of the mathematical derivation of these solutions and discuss their geodesic structure and other geometric properties.
We study the Hamiltonian formulation of f(R) theories of gravity both in metric and in Palatini formalism using their classical equivalence with Brans-Dicke theories with a non-trivial potential. The Palatini case, which corresponds to the w=-3/2 Brans-Dicke theory, requires special attention because of new constraints associated with the scalar field, which is non-dynamical. We derive, compare, and discuss the constraints and evolution equations for the ww=-3/2 and w\neq -3/2 cases. Based on the properties of the constraint and evolution equations, we find that, contrary to certain claims in …
We consider extensions of the Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian to a general functional of metric and Riemann curvature tensor. A given such Lagrangian describes two different theories depending on considering connection and metric (Palatini formulation), or only the metric (metric formulation) as independent dynamical degrees of freedom. Equivalence of the Palatini and metric formulations at the level of equations of motion, which as we will argue is a manifestation of the Equivalence Principle, is the physical criterion that restricts form of the Lagrangians of modified gravity theories. We prove …
Recently, the phenomenology of f(R) gravity has been scrutinized motivated by the possibility to account for the self-accelerated cosmic expansion without invoking dark energy sources. Besides, this kind of modified gravity is capable of addressing the dynamics of several self-gravitating systems alternatively to the presence of dark matter. It has been established that both metric and Palatini versions of these theories have interesting features but also manifest severe and different downsides. A hybrid combination of theories, containing elements from both these two formalisms, turns out to …
Using a dynamical system approach we study the cosmological phase space of the generalized hybrid metric-Palatini gravity theory, characterized by the function $f\left(R,\mathcal R\right)$, where $R$ is the metric scalar curvature and $\mathcal R$ the Palatini scalar curvature of the spacetime. We formulate the propagation equations of the suitable dimensionless variables that describe FLRW universes as an autonomous system. The fixed points are obtained for four different forms of the function $f\left(R,\mathcal R\right)$, and the behavior of the cosmic scale factor $a(t)$ is computed. We sho…
We consider the cosmological models based on Palatini f(R)-theory for the function f(R)=aR-2bR^2-3c/R, which, when only dust visible matter is considered, is called dune cosmology in view of the shape of the function f(R(a)) (being a the scale factor). We discuss about the meaning of solving the model, and interpret it according to Ehlers-Pirani-Schild framework as defining a Weyl geometry on spacetime. Accordingly, we extend the definitions of luminosity distance, proper distance, and redshift to Weyl geometries and fit the values of parameters to SNIa data. Since the theoretical prediction i…
We study modified theories of gravity of the f(R) type in Palatini formalism. We first consider the stability of atoms when the Palatini gravitational interaction is taken into account in the derivation of the non-relativistic Schrodinger equation. We show that theories with infrared curvature corrections are ruled out by the mere existence of atoms. In particular, we carry out fully perturbative calculations that, for the first time, convincingly rule out the 1/R model of Carroll et al. in its Palatini version. We then study the Planck scale corrected quadratic model f(R)=R+R^2/R_P and show t…
In this work we discuss the exact solution to the algebraic equation associated to the Ricci tensor in the quadratic $f(R,Q)$ extension of Palatini gravity. We show that an exact solution always exists, and in the general case it can be found by a simple matrix diagonalization. Furthermore, the general implications of the solution are analysed in detail, including the generation of an effective cosmological constant, and the recovery of the $f(R)$ and $f(Q)$ theories as particular cases in their corresponding limit. In addition, it is proposed a power series expansion of the solution which is …
An introduction to extended theories of gravity formulated in metric-affine (or Palatini) spaces is presented. Focusing on spherically symmetric configurations with electric fields, we will see that in these theories the central singularity present in General Relativity is generically replaced by a wormhole structure. The resulting space-time becomes geodesically complete and, therefore, can be regarded as non-singular. We illustrate these properties considering two different models, namely, a quadratic $f(R)$ theory and a Born-Infeld like gravity theory.
We construct exact solutions representing a Friedmann-Lemaître-Robsertson-Walker (FLRW) universe in a generalized hybrid metric-Palatini theory. By writing the gravitational action in a scalar-tensor representation, the new solutions are obtained by either making an ansatz on the scale factor or on the effective potential. Among other relevant results, we show that it is possible to obtain exponentially expanding solutions for flat universes even when the cosmology is not purely vacuum. We then derive the classes of actions for the original theory which generate these solutions.
We study inflation with the most general non-degenerate gravitational action that depends on the symmetric part of the Ricci tensor coupled to a scalar field in the Palatini formulation of gravity. We use field redefinitions to shift the effect of the Ricci terms from gravity to the scalar field, and apply the result to slow-roll inflation. As examples, we consider actions quadratic and cubic in the Ricci tensor. In the quadratic case the results are similar to the case $R+αR^2$ that has been studied earlier: the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$ can be suppressed by an arbitrary amount, while the sc…
We consider static spherically symmetric stellar configurations in Palatini theories of gravity in which the Lagrangian is an unspecified function of the form $f(R,R_{μν}R^{μν})$. We obtain the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkov equations corresponding to this class of theories and show that they recover those of $f(R)$ theories and General Relativity in the appropriate limits. We show that the exterior vacuum solutions are of Schwarzschild-de Sitter type and comment on the possible expected modifications, as compared to GR, of the interior solutions.
In the Palatini action of general relativity the connection and the metric are treated as independent dynamical variables. Instead of assuming a relation between these quantities, the desired relation between them is derived through the Euler-Lagrange equations of the Palatini action. In this manuscript we construct an extended Palatini action, where we do not assume any a priori relationship between the connection, the covariant metric tensor, and the contravariant metric tensor. Instead we treat these three quantities as independent dynamical variables. We show that this action reproduces th…
The possibility of testing gravity theories with the help of gravitational wave detections has become an interesting arena of recent research. In this paper, we follow this direction by investigating the quasinormal modes (QNMs) of the axial perturbations for charged black holes in the Palatini-type theories of gravity, specifically ($i$) the Palatini $f(R)$ gravity coupled with Born-Infeld nonlinear electrodynamics and ($ii$) the Eddington-inspired-Born-Infeld gravity (EiBI) coupled with Maxwell electromagnetic fields. The coupled master equations describing perturbations of charged black hol…
We show that, within some modified gravity theories, such as the Palatini models, the non-linear nature of the field equations implies that the usual naive averaging procedure (replacing the microscopic energy-momentum by its cosmological average) could be invalid. As a consequence, the relative motion of particles in Palatini theories is actually indistinguishable from that predicted by General Relativity. Moreover, there is no WEP violation. Our new and most important result is that the cosmology and astrophysics, or put more generally, the behaviours on macroscopic scales, predicted by thes…
We examine the question as to whether the Palatini f(R) gravity theories permit space-times in which the causality is violated. We show that every perfect-fluid Gödel-type solution of Palatini f(R) gravity with density $ρ$ and pressure $p$ that satisfy the weak energy condition $ρ+p \geq 0$ is necessarily isometric to the Gödel geometry, demonstrating therefore that these theories present causal anomalies in the form of closed time-like curves. This result extends a theorem on Gödel-type models to the framework of Palatini f(R) gravity theory. We concretely examine the Gödel-type perfect-fluid…
We investigate gravitational lensing in the Palatini approach to the f(R) extended theories of gravity. Starting from an exact solution of the f(R) field equations, which corresponds to the Schwarzschild-de Sitter metric and, on the basis of recent studies on this metric, we focus on some lensing observables, in order to evaluate the effects of the non linearity of the gravity Lagrangian. We give estimates for some astrophysical events, and show that these effects are tiny for galactic lenses, but become interesting for extragalactic ones.
In Cuzinatto et al. [Phys. Rev. D 93, 124034 (2016)], it has been demonstrated that theories of gravity in which the Lagrangian includes terms depending on the scalar curvature $R$ and its derivatives up to order $n$, i.e. $f\left(R,\nabla_μR,\nabla_{μ_{1}}\nabla_{μ_{2}}R,\dots,\nabla_{μ_{1}}\dots\nabla_{μ_{n}}R\right)$ theories of gravity, are equivalent to scalar-multitensorial theories in the Jordan frame. In particular, in the metric and Palatini formalisms, this scalar-multitensorial equivalent scenario shows a structure that resembles that of the Brans-Dicke theories with a kinetic term …
After briefly reviewing the results about polytropic stars in Palatini f(R)-theories, we first show how these results rely on the assumption of a regular function f(R). In particular, singular models allow to extend the parameter interval in which no singularity is formed. Furthermore, we present how the conformal metric can be matched smoothly in the cases where the original metric generates a singularity. In fact, the singularity comes from a singular conformal factor which is continuous though not differentiable at the stellar surface. This suggests that the correct metric to be considered …
The well-formulation and the well-posedness of the Cauchy problem is discussed for {\it hybrid metric-Palatini gravity}, a recently proposed modified gravitational theory consisting of adding to the Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian an $f(R)$ term constructed {\it à la} Palatini. The theory can be recast as a scalar-tensor one predicting the existence of a light long-range scalar field that evades the local Solar System tests and is able to modify galactic and cosmological dynamics, leading to the late-time cosmic acceleration. In this work, adopting generalized harmonic coordinates, we show that th…
In a Palatini $f(\mathcal{R})$-model, we define chonodynamical effects due to the choice of atomic clocks as standard reference clocks and we develop a formalism able to quantitatively separate them from the usual effective dark sources one has in extended theories. We apply the formalism to Hubble drift and briefly discuss the issue about the physical frame. In particular, we argue that there is no physical frame in the sense one does different things in different frames and that, in a sense, is the physical characteristic of extended gravity. As an example, we discuss how Jordan frame may be…
In the present paper, the 3+1 decomposition of the spacetime onto hypersurface(s) is analysed and established for theories within the Palatini formalism by considering a general function of the Ricci scalar in the gravitational action. The corresponding Gauss-Codazzi relations are obtained and the boundary term that has to be subtracted in the gravitational action is easily deduced. Then, these relations are applied to the so-called ADM decomposition to describe the foliation of the spacetime onto hypersurfaces of constant time within these theories. Finally, the junction conditions are also o…
A new class of modified theories of gravity, consisting of the superposition of the metric Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian with an $f(\cal R)$ term constructed à la Palatini was proposed recently. The dynamically equivalent scalar-tensor representation of the model was also formulated, and it was shown that even if the scalar field is very light, the theory passes the Solar System observational constraints. Therefore the model predicts the existence of a long-range scalar field, modifying the cosmological and galactic dynamics. An explicit model that passes the local tests and leads to cosmic acce…
We consider static spherically symmetric stellar configurations in Palatini theories of gravity in which the Lagrangian is an unspecified function of the form f(R,R_{μν}R^{μν}). We obtain the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkov equations corresponding to this class of theories and show that they recover those of f(R) theories and General Relativity in the appropriate limits. We compute exterior vacuum solutions and comment on the possible expected modifications, as compared to GR, of the interior solutions.
Modified gravity, known as $f(R)$ gravity, has presently been applied to Cosmology as a realistic alternative to dark energy. For this kind of gravity the expansion of the Universe may accelerate while containing only baryonic and cold dark matter. The aim of the present investigation is to place cosmographic constraints on the class of theories of the form $f(R)=R - α/R^n$ within the Palatini approach. Although extensively discussed in recent literature and confronted with several observational data sets, cosmological tests are indeed inconclusive about the true signal of $n$ in this class of…
We show that extended theories of gravity with Lagrangian f(R,R_{μν}R^{μν}) in the Palatini formulation possess a phenomenology much richer than the simpler f(R) or f(R_{μν}R^{μν}) theories. In fact, we find that the scalars R and Q=R_{μν}R^{μν} can be written as algebraic functions of the energy density and pressure of the energy momentum tensor. In the simpler cases of f(R) or f(R_{μν}R^{μν}) theories, R and Q are just functions of the trace T of the energy-momentum tensor. As a result, in radiation dominated universes f(R) and f(R_{μν}R^{μν}) theories exhibit the same dynamics as general re…
We study the field equations of extensions of General Relativity formulated within a metric-affine formalism setting torsion to zero (Palatini approach). We find that different (second-order) dynamical equations arise depending on whether torsion is set to zero i) a priori or ii) a posteriori, i.e., before or after considering variations of the action. Considering a generic family of Ricci-squared theories, we show that in both cases the connection can be decomposed as the sum of a Levi-Civita connection and terms depending on a vector field. However, while in case i) this vector field is rela…
