Recently in Phys. Rev. D 88, 027504 (2013) Yoon has suggested that there may be problems for the non-relativistic limit of the conformal gravity theory. Here we show that Yoon's results only hold because of the assumption that gravitational sources can be treated the same way that they are treated in standard Newton-Einstein gravity. Since such an assumption violates the theory's underlying conformal invariance,Yoon's conclusions are invalidated.
Within the framework of the Einstein's standard equations of the general theory of relativity, flat galactic rotational curves of galaxies cannot be explained without hypothesis attracting the dark matter, the particles of which had not yet been identified. The vacuum central-symmetric solution of the equations of conformal gravitation is well known as metrics of Mannheim-Kazanas, on the basis of which these curves receive purely geometrical explanation. We show in our work that the metrics of Mannheim-Kazanas is the solution of not only Bach equations received from conformal-invariant Weyl La…
We show that Mannheim's conformal gravity program, whose potential has a term proportional to $1/r$ and another term proportional to $r$, does not reduce to Newtonian gravity at short distances, unless one assumes undesirable singularities of the mass density of the proton. Therefore, despite the claim that it successfully explains galaxy rotation curves, unless one assumes the singularities, it seems to be falsified by numerous Cavendish-type experiments performed at laboratories on Earth whose work have not found any deviations from Newton's theory. Moreover, it can be shown that as long as …
We study the equations of conformal gravity, as given by Mannheim, in the weak field limit, so that a linear approximation is adequate. Specializing to static fields with spherical symmetry, we obtain a second-order equation for one of the metric functions. We obtain the Green function for this equation, and represent the metric function in the form of integrals over the source. Near a compact source such as the Sun the solution no longer has Schwarzschild form. We conclude that a solution of Mannheim type cannot exist for these field equations.
We study the equations of conformal gravity, as given by Mannheim, in the weak field limit, so that a linear approximation is adequate. Specializing to static fields with spherical symmetry, we obtain a second-order equation for one of the metric functions. We obtain the Green function for this equation, and represent the metric function in the form of integrals over the source. Near a compact source such as the Sun the solution no longer has Schwarzschild form. Using Flanagan's method of obtaining a conformally invariant metric tensor we attempt to get a solution of Schwarzschild type. We fin…
We modify the action of Mannheim's conformally invariant model by changing the sign of two coefficients. This breaks conformal symmetry, but results in a cosmology that has a positive effective G and at the same time retains one of the main advantages of the Mannheim model, a possible solution of the cosmological constant problem.
In a recent paper (MNRAS 458, 4122 (2016)) K. Horne examined the effect of a conformally coupled scalar field (referred to as Higgs field) on the Mannheim-Kazanas metric $g_{μν}$, i.e. the static spherically symmetric metric within the context of conformal gravity (CG), and studied its effect on the rotation curves of galaxies. He showed that for a Higgs field of the form $S(r) = S_0 a/(r + a)$, where $a$ is a radial length scale, the equivalent Higgs-frame Mannheim-Kazanas metric $\tilde{g}_{μν} = Ω^2 g_{μν}$, with $Ω= S(r)/S_{0}$, lacks the linear $γr$ term, which has been employed in the fi…
We consider conformal gravity as a gauge natural theory. We study its conservation laws and superpotentials. We also consider the Mannheim and Kazanas spherically symmetric vacuum solution and discuss conserved quantities associated to conformal and diffeomorphism symmetries.
We study canonical conformal gravity in four dimensions and construct the gauge generators and the associated charges. Using slightly generalized boundary conditions compared to those in \cite{Grumiller:2013mxa} we find that the charges associated with space-time diffeomorphisms are finite and conserved in time. They are also shown to agree with the Noether charges found in \cite{Grumiller:2013mxa}. However, there exists no charge associated with Weyl transformations. Consequently the asymptotic symmetry algebra is isomorphic to the Lie algebra of the boundary condition preserving diffeomorphi…
We use numerical integration to solve the field equations of conformal gravity, assuming a metric that is static and spherically symmetric. Our solution is an extension of that found by Mannheim and Kazanas; it indicates, as expected, that gravitation in this model should be attractive on small scales and repulsive on large ones.
Using a C-metric-type ansatz, we obtain an exact solution to conformal gravity coupled to a Maxwell electromagnetic field. The solution resembles a C-metric spacetime carrying an electromagnetic charge. The metric is cast in a factorised form which allows us to study the domain structure of its static coordinate regions. This metric reduces to the well-known Mannheim-Kazanas metric under an appropriate limiting procedure, and also reduces to the (Anti-)de Sitter C-metric of Einstein gravity for a particular choice of parameters.
In a recent paper in EPJC March 2016, Faria has shown that quantum massive conformal gravity is renormalizable but has ghost states. We comment this paper on the aspect of renormalizability.
The conformal cosmological model presented by Mannheim predicts a negative value for the effective gravitational constant, G. It also involves a scalar field, S, which is treated classically. In this paper we point out that a classical treatment of S is inappropriate, because the Hamiltonian is non-Hermitean, and the theory must be developed in the way pioneered by Bender and others. When this is done, we arrive at a Hamiltonian with an energy spectrum that is bounded below, and also a G that is positive. The resulting theory closely resembles the conventional cosmology based on Einstein relat…
In a previous paper (P. D. Mannheim, Phys. Rev. D 102, 123535 (2020)) we studied cosmological perturbation theory in the cosmology associated with the fourth-order derivative conformal gravity theory, and provided an exact solution to the theory in the recombination era. In this paper we present an exact solution that holds all the way from recombination until the current era.
An exact solution is obtained for the gravitational bending of light in static, spherically symmetric metrics which includes the Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime and also the Mannheim-Kazanas metric of conformal Weyl gravity. From the exact solution, we obtain a small bending-angle-approximation for a lens system where the source, lens and observer are co-aligned. This expansion improves previous calculations where we systematically avoid parameter ranges that correspond to non-existent null trajectories. The linear coefficient $γ$ characteristic to conformal gravity is shown to contribute en…
The "conformal mass prescriptions" were used recently to calculate the mass of spacetimes in higher dimensional and higher curvature theories of gravity. These definitions are closely related to Komar integrals for spacetimes that are conformally flat at great distances from the sources. We derive these relations without using the conformal infinity formalism.
Recently in (Eur. Phys. J. C 76:341, 2016) [arXiv:1604.08706], Myung has suggested that the renormalizability of massive conformal gravity is meaningless unless the massive ghost states of the theory are stable. Here we show that massive conformal gravity can be renormalizable having unstable ghost states.
The field equations of Mannheim's theory of conformal gravity with dynamic mass generation are solved numerically in the interior and exterior regions of a model spherically symmetric sun with matched boundary conditions at the surface. The model consists of a generic fermion field inside the sun, and a scalar Higgs field in both the interior and exterior regions. From the conformal geodesic equations it is shown how an asymptotic gradient in the Higgs field causes an anomalous radial acceleration in qualitative agreement with that observed on the Pioneer 10/11, Galileo, and Ulysses spacecraft…
In their original study of conformal gravity, a candidate alternate gravitational theory, Mannheim and Kazanas showed that in any empty vacuum region exterior to a localized static spherically symmetric gravitational source, the geometry would reduce to the standard attractive gravity Schwarzschild geometry on solar system distance scales. In a recent paper Flanagan has argued that this would not be the case if the source has associated with it a macroscopic scalar field which makes a non-zero contribution to the energy-momentum tensor in the otherwise empty exterior region. In this paper we e…
The cosmological constant problem and the compatibility of gravity with quantum mechanics are the two most pressing problems in all of gravitational theory. While string theory nicely addresses the latter, it has so far failed to provide any compelling solution to the former. On the other hand, while conformal gravity nicely addresses the cosmological constant problem (by naturally quenching the amount by which the cosmological constant gravitates rather than by quenching the cosmological constant itself), the fourth order derivative conformal theory has long been thought to possess a ghost wh…
We present qualitative arguments in favor of an extension of the theory of the gravitational interaction beyond that resulting from the Hilbert-Einstein action. To this end we consider a locally conformal invariant theory of gravity, discussed some thirty years ago by Mannheim and Kazanas. We discuss its exact solution of the static, spherically symmetric configurations and, based on these, we revisit some of the outstanding problems associated with gravity, high energy interactions and sketch potential resolutions within the conformal gravity framework.
We investigate the perihelion shift of planetary motion in conformal Weyl gravity using the metric of the static, spherically symmetric solution discovered by Mannheim \& Kazanas (1989). To this end we employ a procedure similar to that used by Weinberg for the Schwarzschild solution, which has also been used recently to study the solar system effects of the cosmological constant $Λ$. We show that besides the general relativistic terms obtained earlier from the Schwarzschild - de Sitter solution, the expression for the perihelion shift includes a negative contribution which arises from the lin…
In the standard treatment of the Einstein gravitational theory the energy-momentum tensor has always been taken to be composed of perfect fluid aggregates of kinematic Newtonian point test particles with fundamental mechanical masses. Moreover, this standard prescription was not revised after the discovery of the mass-generating Higgs mechanism which is known to be present in the elementary particle physics of these self-same sources and which is also required in the conformal invariant gravitational alternative being considered by Mannheim and Kazanas. In this short contribution we show that …
We discuss the effect of a conformally coupled Higgs field on conformal gravity (CG) predictions for the rotation curves of galaxies. The Mannheim-Kazanas (MK) metric is a valid vacuum solution of CG's 4-th order Poisson equation only if the Higgs field has a particular radial profile, S(r)=S_0 a/(r+a), decreasing from S_0 at r=0 with radial scale length a. Since particle rest masses scale with S(r)/S_0, their world lines do not follow time-like geodesics of the MK metric g_ab, as previously assumed, but rather those of the Higgs-frame MK metric Omega^2 g_ab, with the conformal factor Omega(r)…
We discuss the consequences of the incorrectness [see the Erratum in Phys. Rev D 49, 1145 (1994)] of that paper and add two related remarks. The scope of this comment is to encourage further research on: `Which of the conformally equivalent metrics is the physical one?'
Recently, in Phys. Rev. D 98, 084002 (2018), an investigation was carried out on the gravitational radiation from binary systems in conformal gravity and massive conformal gravity. According to the authors of the paper, these two theories differ only by the sign of a parameter in the matter action of a general conformal theory. For a negative parameter the general conformal theory indeed corresponds to conformal gravity. However, here, we argue that for a positive parameter the general conformal theory does not correspond to massive conformal gravity.
We review some recent work by Mannheim and O'Brien on the systematics of galactic rotation curves in the conformal gravity theory. In this work the conformal theory was applied to a comprehensive, high quality sample of spiral galaxies whose rotation curves extend well beyond the galactic optical disks. On galactic scales the conformal gravitational theory departs from the standard Newtonian theory in two distinct ways. One is a local way in which local matter sources within galaxies generate not just Newtonian potentials but linear potentials as well. The other is a global way in which two un…
The stability of 5-D brane-world models under conformal perturbations is investigated. The analysis is carried out in the general case and then it is applied to particular solutions. It is shown that models with the Poincare and the de Sitter branes are unstable because they have negative mass squared of gravexcitons whereas models with the Anti de Sitter branes have positive gravexciton mass squared and are stable. It is also shown that 4-D effective cosmological and gravitational constants on branes as well as gravexciton masses undergo hierarchy: they have different values on different bran…
We study the weak-field limit of the static spherically symmetric solution of the locally conformally invariant theory advocated in the recent past by Mannheim and Kazanas as an alternative to Einstein's General Relativity. In contrast with the previous works, we consider the physically relevant case where the scalar field that breaks conformal symmetry and generates fermion masses is nonzero. In the physical gauge, in which this scalar field is constant in space-time, the solution reproduces the weak-field limit of the Schwarzschild--(anti)DeSitter solution modified by an additional term that…
We describe the general structure of the spherically symmetric solutions in the Weyl conformal gravity. The corresponding Bach equations are derived for the special type of metrics, which can be considered as the representative of the general class. The complete set of the pure vacuum solutions, consisting of two classes, is found. The first one contains the solutions with constant two-dimensional curvature scalar, and the representatives are the famous Robertson--Walker metrics. We called one of them the "gravitational bubbles", which is compact and with zero Weyl tensor. These "gravitational…
The general structure of the spherically symmetric solutions in the Weyl conformal gravity is described. The corresponding Bach equations are derived for the special type of metrics, which can be considered as the representative of the general class. The complete set of the pure vacuum solutions is found. It consists of two classes. The first one contains the solutions with constant two-dimensional curvature scalar of our specific metrics, and the representatives are the famous Robertson--Walker metrics. One of them we called the "gravitational bubbles", which is compact and with zero Weyl ten…
We review the current status and prospects for the conformal invariant fourth order theory of gravity which has recently been advanced by Mannheim and Kazanas as a candidate alternative to the standard second order Einstein theory. We examine how it is possible in principle to replace the Einstein theory at all while retaining its tested features, and we appeal to the wisdom gleaned from particle physics to suggest a fully covariant, conformal invariant alternative. We explore the theory as a microscopic fundamental theory of elementary particles, to thus give curvature a more prominent role i…
Garcia and Campuzano claim to have found a previously overlooked family of stationary and axisymmetric conformally flat spacetimes, contradicting an old theorem of Collinson. In both these papers it is tacitly assumed that the isometry group is orthogonally transitive. Under the same assumption, we point out here that Collinson's result still holds if one demands the existence of an axis of symmetry on which the axial Killing vector vanishes. On the other hand if the assumption of orthogonal transitivity is dropped, a wider class of metrics is allowed and it is possible to find explicit counte…
We study Weyl symmetry (local conformal symmetry) in unimodular gravity. It is shown that the Noether currents for both Weyl symmetry and global scale symmetry, identically vanish as in the conformally invariant scalar-tensor gravity. We clearly explain why in the class of conformally invariant gravitational theories, the Noether currents vanish by starting with the conformally invariant scalar-tensor gravity. Moreover, we comment on both classical and quantum-mechanical equivalences among Einstein's general relativity, the conformally invariant scalar-tensor gravity and the Weyl-transverse (W…
Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity with non-vanishing cosmological constant coupled to Liouville theory is considered as a non-critical string on $d$ dimensional flat spacetime. It is discussed how the presence of cosmological constant yields additional constraints on the parameter space of the theory, even when the conformal anomaly is independent of the cosmological constant. Such constraints agree with the necessary conditions for the tachyon field to be a primary --prelogarithmic-- operator of the worldsheet conformal field theory. Thus, the linearized tachyon field equation allows to impose the di…
We use a transformation due to Bekenstein to relate the ADM and Bondi masses of asymptotically-flat solutions of the Einstein equations with, respectively, scalar sources and conformal-scalar sources. Although the conformal-scalar energy-momentum tensor does not satisfy the Dominant Energy Condition one may, by this means, still conclude that the ADM mass is positive.
We consider plane-fronted, monochromatic gravitational waves on a Minkowski background, in a conformally invariant theory of general relativity. By this we mean waves of the form: $g_{μν}=η_{μν}+ε_{μν}F(k\cdotx)$, where $ε_{μν}$ is a constant polarization tensor, and $k_μ$ is a lightlike vector. We also assume the coordinate gauge condition $|g|-1/4\partial_τ(|g|1/4g^{στ})=0$ which is the conformal analog of the harmonic gauge condition $g^{μν}Γ_{μν}^σ=-|g|-1/2\partial_τ(|g|1/2g^{στ})=0, where $\det[g_{μν}]\equivg$. Requiring additionally the conformal gauge condition $g=-1$ surprisingly impli…
We reconsider the widely held view that the Mannheim--Kazanas (MK) vacuum solution for a static, spherically-symmetric system in conformal gravity (CG) predicts flat rotation curves, such as those observed in galaxies, without the need for dark matter. This prediction assumes that test particles have fixed rest mass and follow timelike geodesics in the MK metric in the vacuum region exterior to a spherically-symmetric representation of the galactic mass distribution. Such geodesics are not conformally invariant, however, which leads to an apparent discrepancy with the analogous calculation per…
We present an alternative cosmology based on conformal gravity, as originally introduced by H. Weyl and recently revisited by P. Mannheim and D. Kazanas. Unlike past similar attempts our approach is a purely kinematical application of the conformal symmetry to the Universe, through a critical reanalysis of fundamental astrophysical observations, such as the cosmological redshift and others. As a result of this novel approach we obtain a closed-form expression for the cosmic scale factor R(t) and a revised interpretation of the space-time coordinates usually employed in cosmology. New fundament…
We study here, using the Mannheim-Kazanas solution of Weyl conformal theory, the mass decomposition in the representative subsample of $57$ early-type elliptical lens galaxies of the SLACS on board the HST. We begin by showing that the solution need not be an exclusive solution of conformal gravity but can also be viewed as a solution of a class of $f(R)$ gravity theories coupled to non-linear electrodynamics thereby rendering the ensuing results more universal. Since lensing involves light bending, we shall first show that the solution adds to Schwarzschild light bending caused by the luminou…
It is shown that the recently claimed two new Brans-Dicke wormhole solutions [F. He and S-W. Kim, Phys. Rev. D{\bf 65}, 084022 (2002)] are not really new solutions. They are just the well known Brans-Dicke solutions of Class I and II in a different conformal gauge.
When in general geometric backgrounds the metric is accompanied by torsion, the metric conformal properties should correspondingly be followed by analogous torsional conformal properties; however a combined metric torsional conformal structure has never been found which provides a curvature that is both containing metric-torsional degree of freedom and conformally invariant: in this paper we construct such a metric-torsional conformal curvature. We proceed by building the most general action, then deriving the most general system of field equations; we check their consistency by showing that b…
The problem of the quantum modes of the scalar free field on anti-de Sitter backgrounds with an arbitrary number of space dimensions is considered. It is shown that this problem can be solved by using the same quantum numbers as those of the nonrelativistic oscillator and two parameters which give the energy quanta and respectively the ground state energy. This last one is known to be just the conformal dimension of the boundary field theory of the AdS/CFT conjecture.
We present the first steps needed for an analysis of the perturbations that occur in the cosmology associated with the conformal gravity theory. We discuss the implications of conformal invariance for perturbative coordinate gauge choices, and show that in the conformal theory the trace of the metric fluctuation kinematically decouples from the first-order gravitational fluctuation equations. We determine the equations that describe first-order metric fluctuations around the illustrative conformally flat de Sitter background. Via a conformal transformation we show that such fluctuations can be…
Conformal gravity theory can explain observed flat rotation curves of galaxies without invoking hypothetical dark matter. Within this theory, we obtain a generic formula for the sizes of galaxies exploiting the stability criterion of circular orbits. It is found that different galaxies have different finite sizes uniquely caused by the assumed quadratic potential of cosmological origin. Observations on where circular orbits might actually terminate could thus be very instructive in relation to the galactic sizes predicted here.
