The detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory opens a new era to use gravitational waves to test alternative theories of gravity. We investigate the polarizations of gravitational waves in $f(R)$ gravity and Horndeski theory, both containing scalar modes. These theories predict that in addition to the familiar $+$ and $\times$ polarizations, there are transverse breathing and longitudinal polarizations excited by the massive scalar mode and the new polarization is a single mixed state. It would be very difficult to detect the longitudinal polarization by interferometers, while pulsar timing array may be the better tool to detect the longitudinal polarization.
We point out that there are only three polarizations for gravitational waves in $f(R)$ gravity, and the polarization due to the massive scalar mode is a mix of the pure longitudinal and transverse breathing polarization. The classification of the six polarizations by the Newman-Penrose quantities is based on weak, plane and null gravitational waves, so it is not applicable to the massive mode.
An exact de Sitter solution of scalar-tensor gravity is found, in which the non-minimal coupling scalar is rolling along a non-constant potential. Based on this solution, a dust-filled FRW universe is explored in frame of scalar-tensor gravity. The effective dark energy induced by the sole non-minimal scalar can be quintessence-like, phantom-like, and more significantly, can cross the phantom divide. The rich and varied properties of scalar-tensor gravity even with only one scalar is shown in this article.
We present a direct confirmation of the validity of the equivalence principle for unstructured test bodies in scalar tensor gravity. Our analysis is complementary to previous approaches and valid for a large class of scalar-tensor theories of gravitation. A covariant approach is used to derive the equations of motion in a systematic way and allows for the experimental test of scalar-tensor theories by means of extended test bodies.
We provide evidence that gravitational radiation in a 4D radiation-dominated universe, with equation-of-state $w=1/3$, consists of two components: helicity-2 gravitons and massless scalar acoustic waves. On physical grounds, we would expect the homogeneous solution of the Weyl tensor components to be a good approximation to its inhomogeneous counterparts, whenever the observer is located well in the far zone of an isolated astrophysical source of cosmological gravitational radiation. We show explicitly that these homogeneous and inhomogeneous solutions both receive contributions from the gauge…
Gravitational waves (GWs) have opened a new window on fundamental physics in a number of important ways. The next generation of GW detectors may reveal more information about the polarization structure of GWs. Additionally, there is growing interest in theories of gravity beyond GR. One such theory which remains viable within the context of recent measurements of the speed of propagation of GWs is the teleparallel analogue of Horndeski gravity. In this work, we explore the polarization structure of this newly proposed formulation of Horndeski theory. In curvature-based gravity, Horndeski theor…
It is proved that all thin-shell wormholes built from two identical regions of vacuum static, spherically symmetric space-times have a negative shell surface energy density in any scalar-tensor theory of gravity with a non-ghost massless scalar field and a non-ghost graviton.
We consider the evolution of cosmological gravitational waves in scalar-tensor theory and $F(R)$ gravity theory as typical models of the modified gravity. Although the propagation speed is not changed from the speed of light, the propagation phase changes when we compare the propagation in these modified gravity theories with the propagation in the $Λ$CDM model. The phase change might be detected in future observations.
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 show that any generally covariant coupling of matter fields to gravity gives rise to a conserved, on-shell symmetric energy-momentum tensor equivalent to the canonical energy-momentum tensor of the flat-space theory. For matter fields minimally coupled to gravity our algorithm gives the conventional Belinfante tensor. We establish that different matter-gravity couplings give metric energy-momentum tensors differing by identically conserved tensors. We prove that the metric energy-momentum tensor obtained from an arbitrary gravity theory is on-shell equivalent to the canonical energy-momentu…
We study cosmological tensor perturbations generated during de Sitter inflation in the conformal gravity with mass parameter $m^2=2H^2$. It turns out that tensor power spectrum is scale-invariant.
General Relativity is a hugely successful description of gravitation. However, both theory and observations suggest that General Relativity might have significant classical and quantum corrections in the Strong Gravity regime. Testing the strong field limit of gravity is one of the main objectives of the future gravitational wave detectors. One way to detect strong gravity is through the polarization of gravitational waves. For quasi-normal modes of black-holes in General Relativity, the two polarisation states of gravitational waves have the same amplitude and frequency spectrum. Using the pr…
We study the discretization of 3d gravity with $Λ=0$ following the loop quantum gravity framework. In the process, we realize that different choices of polarization are possible. This allows to introduce a new discretization based on the triad as opposed to the connection as in the standard loop quantum gravity framework. We also identify the classical non-trivial symmetries of discrete gravity, namely the Drinfeld double, given in terms of momentum maps. Another choice of polarization is given by the Chern-Simons formulation of gravity. Our framework also provides a new discretization scheme …
The low-momentum structure of the gravitational polarization tensor of an ultrarelativistic plasma of scalar particles with $λϕ^4$ interactions is evaluated in a two-loop calculation up to and including order $λ^{3/2}$. This turns out to require an improved perturbation theory which resums a local thermal mass term as well as nonlocal hard-thermal-loop vertices of scalar and gravitational fields.
Tensor models are more-index generalizations of the so-called matrix models, and provide models of quantum gravity with the idea that spaces and general relativity are emergent phenomena. In this paper, a renormalization procedure for the tensor models whose dynamical variable is a totally symmetric real three-tensor is discussed. It is proven that configurations with certain Gaussian forms are the attractors of the three-tensor under the renormalization procedure. Since these Gaussian configurations are parameterized by a scalar and a symmetric two-tensor, it is argued that, in general situat…
Quasi-normal modes (QNMs) uniquely characterize the final black-hole. Till now, only the QNM frequency and damping time are used to test General relativity. In this work, we show explicitly that another property of the QNMs --- their polarization --- can be a reliable tool for probing gravity. We provide a consistent test for General relativity by considering Chern-Simons gravity. Distinguishing Chern-Simons gravity from General relativity using only template matching is highly challenging. Thus a parameter that can differentiate between Chern-Simons gravity and GR will be a suitable candidate…
Constructs from conformal geometry are important in low dimensional gravity models, while in higher dimensions the higher curvature interactions of Lovelock gravity are similarly prominent. Considering conformal invariance in the context of Lovelock gravity leads to natural, higher-curvature generalizations of the Weyl, Schouten, Cotton and Bach tensors, with properties that straightforwardly extend those of their familiar counterparts. As a first application, we introduce a new set of conformally invariant gravity theories in D=4k dimensions, based on the squares of the higher curvature Weyl …
Gravity can arise in a conventional non-Abelian gauge theory in which a specific phenomenon takes place. Suppose there is a condensation of polarized instantons and antiinstantons in the vacuum state. Then the excitations of the gauge field in the classical approximation are described through the variables of Riemann geometry satisfying the Einstein equations of general relativity. There are no dimensional coupling constants in the theory.
In a general metric theory of gravitation in four dimensions, six polarizations of a gravitational wave are allowed: two scalar and two vector modes, in addition to two tensor modes in general relativity. Such additional polarization modes appear due to additional degrees of freedom in modified theories of gravitation or theories with extra dimensions. Thus, observations of gravitational waves can be utilized to constrain the extended models of gravitation. In this paper, we investigate detectability of additional polarization modes of gravitational waves, particularly focusing on a stochastic…
Symmetric teleparallel gravity (STG) offers an interesting avenue to formulate a theory of gravitation that relies neither on curvature nor torsion but only on non-metricity Q. Given the growing number of observations of gravitational waves (GWs) and their use to explore gravitational theories, in this work we investigate the GWs in various extensions of STG, focusing on their speed and polarization. For the simple STG, for theories that arise from the generalized irreducible decomposition of STG, and for f(Q) gravity, we obtain the same speed and polarizations with general relativity. For sca…
We calculate tensor bispectrum in a theory of massive tensor gravitons which predicts blue-tilted and largely amplified primordial gravitational waves. We find that a new 3-point interaction can produce a larger tensor bispectrum than the conventional one from general relativity. The bispectrum peaks at the squeezed configuration and its slope towards the squeezed limit is determined by the graviton mass. This squeezed tensor bispectrum may be observed as the quadrupolar modulation of the tensor power spectrum by interferometers.
We construct, and establish the (covariant) conservation of, a 4-index "super-stress tensor" for TMG. Separately, we discuss its invalidity in quadratic curvature models and suggest a generalization.
Cosmological Gravitational Waves (GWs) are usually associated with the transverse-traceless part of the metric perturbations in the context of the theory of cosmological perturbations. These modes are just the usual polarizations `+' and `x' which appear in the general relativity theory. However, in the majority of the alternative theories of gravity, GWs can present more than these two polarization states. In this context, the Newman-Penrose formalism is particularly suitable for evaluating the number of non-null GW modes. In the present work we intend to take into account these extra polariz…
Following an existing procedure in general relativity, the turnaround radius of a spherical structure is studied in scalar-tensor gravity using a new prescription for the analog of the Hawking-Hayward quasilocal mass in this class of theories.
The $f(R)$ gravity and scalar-tensor theory are known to be equivalent at the classical level. We study if this equivalence is valid at the quantum level. There are two descriptions of the scalar-tensor theory in the Jordan and Einstein frames. It is shown that these three formulations of the theories give the same determinant or effective action on shell, and thus they are equivalent at the quantum one-loop level on shell in arbitrary dimensions. We also compute the one-loop divergence in $f(R)$ gravity.
We revisit the problem of phantom behaviour of effective dark energy in scalar-tensor gravity. The main focus is on the properties of the functions defining the model. We find that models with the present phantom behavior can be made consistent with all constraints, but one of these functions must have rather contrived shape, and the initial data must be strongly fine-tuned. Also, the phantom stage must have begun fairly recently, at $z\lesssim 1$. All this disfavors the effective phantom behaviour in the scalar-tensor gravity.
We study the vacuum polarization effect in the spacetime generated by a magnetic flux cosmic string in the framework of a scalar-tensor gravity. The vacuum expectation values of the energy-momentum tensor of a conformally coupled scalar field are calculated. The dilaton's contribution to the vacuum polarization effect is shown explicitly.
The evolution equations for tensor perturbations in a generic scalar tensor theory of gravity are presented. Exact solution are given for a specific class of theories and Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker backgrounds. In these cases it is shown that, although the evolution of tensor models depends on the choice of parameters of the theory, no amplification is possible if the gravitational interaction is attractive.
In this paper we consider an extension to Eddington's proposal for the gravitational action. We study tensor perturbations of a homogeneous and isotropic space-time in the Eddington regime, where modifications to Einstein gravity are strong. We find that the tensor mode is linearly unstable deep in the Eddington regime and discuss its cosmological implications.
We investigate whether the classical equivalence of $f(R)$ gravity and its formulation as scalar-tensor theory still holds at the quantum level. We explicitly compare the corresponding one-loop divergences and find that the equivalence is broken by off-shell quantum corrections, but recovered on-shell.
Out of several possible extensions of general relativity, the scalar-tensor theory is the most popular for several reasons. Since the quantum description of gravity is yet to be formulated properly, the understanding of a gravitational theory remains incomplete until the study of thermodynamic and fluid-gravity aspects, which provides an alternative viewpoint to understand the gravitational theory. In this review, we study these features (thermodynamics and the fluid gravity analogy) in a rigorous and yet in a concise manner for the scalar-tensor gravity, which has been revealed in our recent …
We derive the low-energy effective action of four-dimensional gravity in the Randall-Sundrum scenario in which two 3-branes of opposite tension reside in a five-dimensional spacetime. The dimensional reduction with the Ansatz for the radion field by Charmousis et al., which solves five-dimensional linearized field equations, results in a class of scalar-tensor gravity theories. In the limit of vanishing radion fluctuations, the effective action reduces to the Brans-Dicke gravity in accord with the results of Garriga and Tanaka: Brans-Dicke gravity with the corresponding Brans-Dicke parameter $…
In this contribution, classes of shear-free cosmological dust models with irrotational fluid flows will be investigated in the context of scalar-tensor theories of gravity. In particular, the integrability conditions describing a consistent evolution of the linearised field equations of quasi-Newtonian universes are presented. We also derive the covariant density and velocity propagation equations of such models and analyse the corresponding solutions to these perturbation equations.
We provide a cosmological test of modified gravity with two tensorial degrees of freedom and no extra propagating scalar mode. The theory of gravity we consider admits a cosmological model that is indistinguishable from the $Λ$CDM model at the level of the background evolution. The model has a single modified-gravity parameter $β$, the effect of which can be seen in linear perturbations, though no extra scalar mode is propagating. Using the Boltzmann code modified to incorporate the present model, we derive the constraints $-0.047 < β< -0.028$ at 68$\%$ confidence from Planck CMB data. Since o…
The question of the correspondence between the number of degrees of freedom and the number of polarization states in hybrid metric-Palatini f(R)-gravity is considered. It is shown that the scalar transverse breathing and longitudinal modes are a mixture of one polarization state. The speed of gravitational waves propagation in hybrid f(R)-gravity is calculated.
We study the polarizations of gravitational waves (GWs) in two classes of extended gravity theories. First, we formulate the polarizations in linear massive gravity (MG) with generic mass terms of non-Fierz-Pauli type by identifying all the independent variables that obey Klein-Gordon-type equations. The dynamical degrees of freedom (dofs) in the generic MG consist of spin-2 and spin-0 modes, the former breaking down into two tensor (helicity-2), two vector (helicity-1) and one scalar (helicity-0) components, while the latter just corresponding to a scalar. We find convenient ways of decomposi…
The metric-affine gravity provides a useful framework for analyzing gravitational dynamics since it treats metric tensor and affine connection as fundamentally independent variables. In this work, we show that, a metric-affine gravity theory composed of the invariants formed from non-metricity, torsion and curvature tensors can be decomposed into a theory of scalar, vector and tensor fields. These fields are natural candidates for the ones needed by various cosmological and other phenomena. Indeed, we show that the model accommodates TeVeS gravity (relativistic modified gravity theory), vector…
Tensor models provide a way to access the path-integral for discretized quantum gravity in d dimensions. As in the case of matrix models for two-dimensional quantum gravity, the continuum limit can be related to a Renormalization Group fixed point in a setup where the tensor size N serves as the Renormalization Group scale. We develop functional Renormalization Group tools for tensor models with a main focus on a rank-3 model for three-dimensional quantum gravity. We rediscover the double-scaling limit and provide an estimate for the scaling exponent. Moreover, we identify two additional fixed…
In the Riemann geometry, the metric's equation of motion for an arbitrary Lagrangian is succinctly expressed in term of the first variation of the action with respect to the Riemann tensor if the Riemann tensor were independent of the metric. Let this variation be called the E-tensor. Noting that the E-tensor and equations of the motion for a general Lovelock gravity have the same differential degree, we define generalized Lovelock gravity as polynomial scalar densities constructed out from the Riemann tensor and its arbitrary covariant derivatives such that they lead to the same differential …
A brief review of cosmology in some generalized modified gravity theories with vacuum polarization is presented. Stability question of de Sitter solution is investigated.
Scalar-tensor gravity is one of the most competitive gravity theory to Einstein's relativity. We reconstruct the exact de Sitter solution in scalar-tensor gravity, in which the non-minimal coupling scalar is rolling along the potential. This solution may have some relation to the early inflation and present acceleration of the universe. We investigated its primordial quantum perturbation around the adiabatic vacuum. We put forward for the first time that exact de Sitter generates non-exactly scale invariant perturbations. In the conformal coupling case, this model predicts that the tensor mode…
The gauge theory of the de Sitter group, SO$(1,4)$, in the ambient space formalism has been considered in this article. This method is essential to constructing the de Sitter super-conformal gravity and Quantum gravity. $10$ gauge vector fields are needed, corresponding to $10$ generators of the de Sitter group. Using the gauge-invariant Lagrangian, the field equation of these vector fields has been obtained. The gauge vector field solutions are recalled. Then, the spin-$2$ gauge potentials are constructed from the gauge vector field. There are two possibilities for presenting this tensor fiel…
The gravitational waves of Hořava gravity, their polarization states and their possible observational signatures are discussed. Using the gauge-invariant variable formalism, we found the three polarization modes in Hořava gravity excited by the three physical degrees of freedom contained in this theory. In particular, the scalar degree of freedom excites a mix of the transverse breathing and the longitudinal polarizations. The constraints from the previous experimental observations are taken into account, especially including the speed bound from the observations of GW170817 and GRB 170817A. I…
In the present paper we will investigate the relation between scalar-tensor theory and $f(R)$ theories of gravity. Such studies have been performed in the past for the metric formalism of $f(R)$ gravity; here we will consider mainly the Palatini formalism, where the metric and the connections are treated as independent quantities. We will try to investigate under which circumstances $f(R)$ theories of gravity are equivalent to scalar-tensor theory and examine the implications of this equivalence, when it exists.
The analysis of certain singularities in scalar-tensor gravity contained in a recent paper is completed, and situations are pointed out in which these singularities cannot occur.
We investigate a linearized tensor-tensor theory of gravity with torsion and a perturbed torsion wave solution is discovered in background Minkowski spacetime with zero torsion. Furthermore, gauge transformations of any perturbed tensor field are derived in general background non-Riemannian geometries. By calculating autoparallel deviations, both longitudinal and transverse polarizations of the torsion wave are discovered.
The scalar-tensor representation of nonlocally corrected gravity is considered. Some special solutions of the vacuum background equations were obtained that indicate to the nonequivalence of the initial theory and its scalar-tensor representation.
We study the dynamical description of gravity, the appropriate definition of the scalar field energy-momentum tensor, and the interrelation between them in scalar-tensor theories of gravity. We show that the quantity which one would naively identify as the energy-momentum tensor of the scalar field is not appropriate because it is spoiled by a part of the dynamical description of gravity. A new connection can be defined in terms of which the full dynamical description of gravity is explicit, and the correct scalar field energy-momentum tensor can be immediately identified. Certain inequalities…
We determine the possible gravitational wave polarizations in two general classes of teleparallel gravity theories, using the metric and symmetric teleparallel geometries. For this purpose we apply the Newman-Penrose formalism, and find that depending on the choice of parameters, the $\mathrm{E}(2)$ class of the theories is one of $\mathrm{N}_2, \mathrm{N}_3, \mathrm{III}_5, \mathrm{II}_6$, corresponding to two to six polarizations, where all of them include the two tensor polarizations known from general relativity. We also find classes of theories apart from general relativity which yield th…
Hawking has proven that black holes which are stationary as the endpoint of gravitational collapse in Brans--Dicke theory (without a potential) are no different than in general relativity. We extend this proof to the much more general class of scalar-tensor and f(R) gravity theories, without assuming any symmetries apart from stationarity.
We present a construction of kinematic quantum states for theories of tensor fields of an arbitrary sort. The construction is based on projective techniques by Kijowski. Applying projective quantum states for Loop Quantum Gravity obtained by Lanery and Thiemann we construct quantum states for LQG coupled to tensor fields.
We use the 1+1+2 covariant approach to clarify a number of aspects of spherically symmetric solutions of non-minimally coupled scalar tensor theories. Particular attention is focused on the extension of Birkhoff's theorem and the nature of quasi-local horizons in this context.
The observation of the inspiral and merger of compact binaries by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration has allowed for new tests of Einstein's theory in the extreme gravity regime, where gravitational interactions are simultaneously strong, non-linear, and dynamical. Theories beyond Einstein's can also be constrained by detecting the polarization modes of gravitational waves. In this paper, we show that dynamical Chern-Simons and Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity cannot be differentiated from general relativity based on the detection of polarization modes alone. To prove this result, we use the Ne…
