In the context of modified teleparallel gravity, we study the generation of primordial density fluctuations in a general scalar-torsion theory whose Lagrangian density is an arbitrary function $f(T,ϕ)$ of the torsion scalar $T$ and a scalar field $ϕ$, plus the kinetic term of this latter. It is well known that generic modifications of teleparallel gravity are not invariant under six-parameter local Lorentz transformations. In order to restore the local Lorentz symmetry, we have incorporated six additional degrees of freedom in the form of Goldstone modes of the symmetry breaking through a Lorentz rotation of the tetrad field. After integrating out all the auxiliary modes, we obtain a second order action for the scalar and tensor propagating modes and their power spectrum generated during inflation. It is found that an explicit mass term emerges in the second order action for curvature perturbation, describing the imprints of local Lorentz violation at first-order of slow-roll. We show that only inflationary models with nonminimal coupling functions $f(T,ϕ)$ which are non-linear in $T$, including the case of $f(T)$ gravity with minimally coupled scalar field, can generate primordial fluctuations. For a concrete model of inflation, we study the power-law potential by using the latest Planck data.
We study the cosmological perturbations for the possible inflation scenario in the teleparallel equivalence of general relativity specified with parallelizable topological conditions. By acquiring the identical physical observables to general relativity under the teleparallel formalism, we perform a 3+1 decomposition of the vierbein field, which can be interpreted as the time gauge fixing between coordinate and tangent frames. We also extend our discussion to the higher-order action, $f(T)$ gravity.
We analyze the relation between teleparallelism and local Lorentz invariance. We show that generic modifications of the teleparallel equivalent to general relativity will not respect local Lorentz symmetry. We clarify the reasons for this and explain why the situation is different in general relativity. We give a prescription for constructing teleparallel equivalents for known theories. We also explicitly consider a recently proposed class of generalized teleparallel theories, called f(T) theories of gravity, and show why restoring local Lorentz symmetry in such theories cannot lead to sensibl…
In this paper, we consider the possible effect of the teleparallel gravity on the production of the primordial black holes (PBH) and on the gravitational waves (GWs). We investigate the relationship between the slow roll, the e-folds number and the teleparallel parameters. We show that in the case of the teleparallel parameter $δ=3$, the e-folds number reaches the values $50$ and $60$ in consistency with the contour plot of the $(r,n_{s})$ plane obtained by Planck data at $1σ$ and $2σ$ C.L.. Furthermore, we use the fraction of the energy density and the variance of the density perturbations ap…
Arbitrary generalization to the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity loses local Lorentz invariance to reparametrize the orthonormal coordinate system and gives rise to asymmetry field equations. We investigate consequences of local Lorentz violation to primordial fluctuations in extended single field inflationary models based on the scalar-tensor formulation of the torsion scalar $T$ that effectively includes $f(T)$ gravity as a special case. We show that despite some asymmetry part of the field equations are removed in a spatially homogeneous and isotropic cosmic background, no subh…
In this article we explore local Lorentz transformations in theories of gravity based on the teleparallel formalism. For the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity (TEGR), the spin connection plays no role in the equations of motion, and therefore it is possible to simply put it equal to zero with no change in physical quantities, and then the theory is formulated purely in terms of the tetrad field which can be freely chosen in any way. In nonlinear modifications of TEGR, this is a more intricate issue, and vanishing spin connection is then the Weitzenböck gauge choice which imposes re…
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 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 show that in theories of generalised teleparallel gravity, whose Lagrangians are algebraic functions of the usual teleparallel Lagrangian, the action and the field equations are not invariant under local Lorentz transformations. We also argue that these theories appear to have extra degrees of freedom with respect to general relativity. The usual teleparallel Lagrangian, which has been extensively studied and leads to a theory dynamically equivalent to general relativity, is an exception. Both of these facts appear to have been overlooked in the recent literature on f(T) gravity, but are cr…
We consider the quantization of matter fields in a background described by the teleparallel equivalent to general relativity. The presence of local Lorentz and gauge symmetries gives rise to different coupling prescriptions, which we analyse separately. As expected, quantum matter fields produce divergences that cannot be absorbed by terms in the background action of teleparallel equivalent to general relativity. Nonetheless, the formulation of teleparallel gravity allows one to find out the source of the problem. By imposing local Lorentz invariance after quantization, we show that a modified…
Symmetric teleparallel gravity (STG) is an alternative description of the gravitational field as an effect of the nonmetricity rather than the curvature of the spacetime. For an specific choice of the symmetric teleparallel lagrangian, the STG dynamics is equivalent to the general relativity (GR), and it is called Symmetric teleparallel equivalent to general relativity (STEGR). We propose a local Lorentz violating dynamics in the gravitational sector in the STEGR framework. The Lorentz violation is trigged by the vacuum expectation value (vev) of the well-known bumblebee field, whose vev coupl…
Local Lorentz transformations play an important role in teleparallel gravity theories, in which a tetrad is conventionally employed as a fundamental field variable describing the gravitational field. It is commonly understood that modifications of general relativity in the teleparallel framework break a certain notion of local Lorentz invariance, which is present in the pure tetrad formulation of such theories, while another notion present in the covariant formulation is preserved. We illuminate these different notions from a geometric perspective, and distinguish them from what is commonly un…
In a teleparallel theory of (2+1)-dimensional gravity developed in a previous paper, we examine generators of internal Lorentz transformations and of general affine coordinate transformations for static circularly symmetric exact solutions of gravitational field equation. The \lq \lq spin" angular momentum, the energy-momentum and the \lq \lq extended orbital angular momentum" are explicitly given for each solution. Also, we give a critical comment on Deser's claim that neither momentum nor boosts are definable for finite energy solutions of three-dimensional Einstein gravity.
In this paper, we study static spherically symmetric wormhole solutions in extended teleparallel gravity with the inclusion of noncommutative geometry under Lorentzian distribution. We obtain expressions of matter components for non-diagonal tetrad. The effective energy-momentum tensor leads to the violation of energy conditions which impose condition on the normal matter to satisfy these conditions. We explore the noncommutative wormhole solutions by assuming a viable power-law $f(T)$ and shape function models. For the first model, we discuss two cases in which one leads to teleparallel gravi…
In this paper we show that a free electromagnetic field living in Minkowski spacetime generates an effective Weitzenbock or an effective Lorentzian spacetime whose properties aredetermined in details. These results are possible because we found using the Clifford bundle formalism the noticeable result that the energy-momentum densities of a free electromagnetic field are sources of the Hodge duals of exact 2-form fields which satisfy Maxwell like equations.
A brief discussion is made about the relevance of surface terms in the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of theories of gravity. These surface terms play an important role in the variation of the action integral and in the definition of field quantities such as the gravitational energy-momentum. Then we point out several inconsistencies of a recently proposed formulation of teleparallel theories of gravity with local Lorentz symmetry.
Two spherically symmetric, static Lorentzian wormholes are obtained in tetrad theory of gravitation as a solution of the equation $ρ=ρ_t=0$, where $ρ=T_{ij}u^iu^j, ρ_t=(T_{ij}-{1/2}Tg_{ij})u^iu^j$ and $u^iu_i=-1$. This equation characterizes a class of spacetime which are "self-dual" (in the sense of electrogravity duality). The obtained solutions are characterized by two-parameters $k_1, k_2$ and have a common property that they reproduce the same metric spacetime. This metric is the static Lorentzian wormhole and it includes the Schwarzschild black hole. Calculating the energy content of the…
The basics of teleparallel gravity and its extensions are reviewed with particular emphasis on the problem of Lorentz-breaking choice of connection in pure-tetrad versions of the theories. Various possible ways to covariantise such models are discussed. A by-product is a new form of $f(T)$ field equations.
The transformation properties of the gravitational energy-momentum in the teleparallel gravity are analyzed. It is proved that the gravitational energy-momentum in the teleparallel gravity can be expressed in terms of the Lorentz gauge potential, and therefore is not covariant under local Lorentz transformations. On the other hand, it can also be expressed in terms of the translation gauge field strength, and therefore is covariant under general coordinate transformations. A simplified Hamiltonian formulation of the teleparallel gravity is given. Its constraint algebra has the same structure a…
Conservation laws in gravitational theories with diffeomorphism and local Lorentz symmetry are studied. Main attention is paid to the construction of conserved currents and charges associated with an arbitrary vector field that generates a diffeomorphism on the spacetime. We further generalize previous results for the case of gravitational models described by quasi-invariant Lagrangians, that is, Lagrangians that change by a total derivative under the action of the local Lorentz group. The general formalism is then applied to the teleparallel models, for which the energy and the angular moment…
We give a pedagogical introduction into the field of (modified) teleparallel theories of gravity. Our presentation is fairly self-contained. In particular, we carefully explain the basic principles of metric-affine approaches to gravity. This contribution is based on our talk "Teleparallel gravity, its modifications, and the local Lorentz invariance" at the 9th Mathematical Physics Meeting: School and Conference on Modern Mathematical Physics in Belgrade, September 2017.
Teleparallel gravity and its popular generalization $f(T)$ gravity can be formulated as fully invariant (under both coordinate transformations and local Lorentz transformations) theories of gravity. Several misconceptions about teleparallel gravity and its generalizations can be found in the literature, especially regarding their local Lorentz invariance. We describe how these misunderstandings may have arisen and attempt to clarify the situation. In particular, the central point of confusion in the literature appears to be related to the inertial spin connection in teleparallel gravity models…
The different roles played by Lorentz connections in general relativity and in teleparallel gravity are reviewed. Some of the consequences of this difference are discussed.
In teleparallel gravity, we apply Lorenz type gauge fixing to cope with redundant degrees of freedom in the vierbein field. This condition is mainly to restore the Lorentz symmetry of the teleparallel torsion scalar. In cosmological application, this technique provides standard cosmology, turnaround, bounce or $Λ$CDM as separate scenarios. We reconstruct the $f(T)$ gravity which generates these models. We study the stability of the solutions by analyzing the corresponding phase portraits. Also, we investigate Lorenz gauge in the unimodular coordinates, it leads to unify a nonsingular bounce an…
In the context of a gauge theory for the translation group, a conserved energy-momentum gauge current for the gravitational field is obtained. It is a true spacetime and gauge tensor, and transforms covariantly under global Lorentz transformations. By rewriting the gauge gravitational field equation in a purely spacetime form, it becomes the teleparallel equivalent of Einstein's equation, and the gauge current reduces to the Møller's canonical energy-momentum density of the gravitational field.
We investigate the Lagrange multiplier formulation of teleparallel theories, including f(T) gravity, in which the connection is not set to zero a priori and compare it with the pure frame theory. We show explicitly that the two formulations are equivalent, in the sense that the dynamical equations have the same content. One consequence is that the manifestly local Lorentz invariant f(T) theory cannot be expected to be free of pathologies, which were previously found to plague f(T) gravity formulated in the usual pure frame approach.
We construct the setup of a five-dimensional braneworld scenario in teleparallel gravity. Both cases of Minkowski and Friedmann-Robertson-Walker branes embedded in Anti de Sitter bulk are studied and the effective 4-D action were studied. 4-dimensional local Lorentz invariance is found to be recovered in both cases. However, due to different junction conditions, the equations governing the 4-D cosmological evolution differ from general relativistic case. Using the results of Ref. [13], we consider a simple inflationary scenario in this setup. The inflation parameters are found to be modified c…
The covariant formulation of teleparallel gravity theories must include the spin connection, which has 6 degrees of freedom. One can, however, always choose a gauge such that the spin connection is put to zero. In principle this gauge may affect counting of degrees of freedom in the Hamiltonian analysis. We show for general teleparallel theories of gravity, that fixing the gauge such that the spin connection vanishes in fact does not affect the counting of degrees of freedom. This manifests in the fact that the momenta of the Lorentz transformations which generate the spin connection are fully…
A nonintegrable phase-factor global approach to gravitation is developed by using the similarity of teleparallel gravity with electromagnetism. The phase shifts of both the COW and the gravitational Aharonov-Bohm effects are obtained. It is then shown, by considering a simple slit experiment, that in the classical limit the global approach yields the same result as the gravitational Lorentz force equation of teleparallel gravity. It represents, therefore, the quantum mechanical version of the classical description provided by the gravitational Lorentz force equation. As teleparallel gravity ca…
Inspired by the teleparallel formulation of General Relativity, whose Lagrangian is the torsion invariant T, we have constructed the teleparallel equivalent of Gauss-Bonnet gravity in arbitrary dimensions. Without imposing the Weitzenbock connection, we have extracted the torsion invariant T_G, equivalent (up to boundary terms) to the Gauss-Bonnet term G. T_G is constructed by the vielbein and the connection, it contains quartic powers of the torsion tensor, it is diffeomorphism and Lorentz invariant, and in four dimensions it reduces to a topological invariant as expected. Imposing the Weitze…
We use BBN observational data on primordial abundance of ${}^4He$ to constrain f(T) gravity. The three most studied viable $f(T)$ models, namely the power law, the exponential and the square-root exponential are considered, and the BBN bounds are adopted in order to extract constraints on their free parameters. For the power-law model, we find that the constraints are in agreement with those acquired using late-time cosmological data. For the exponential and the square-root exponential models, we show that for realiable regions of parameters space they always satisfy the BBN bounds. We conclud…
A new expression for the spin connection of teleparallel gravity is proposed, given by minus the contorsion tensor plus a zero connection. The corresponding minimal coupling is covariant under local Lorentz transformation, and equivalent to the minimal coupling prescription of general relativity. With this coupling prescription, therefore, teleparallel gravity turns out to be fully equivalent to general relativity, even in the presence of spinor fields.
This study explores the Gaussian and the Lorentzian distributed spherically symmetric wormhole solutions in the $f(τ, T)$ gravity. The basic idea of the Gaussian and Lorentzian noncommutative geometries emerges as the physically acceptable and substantial notion in quantum physics. This idea of the noncommutative geometries with both the Gaussian and Lorentzian distributions becomes more striking when wormhole geometries in the modified theories of gravity are discussed. Here we consider a linear model within $f(τ,T)$ gravity to investigate traversable wormholes. In particular, we discuss the …
An exact solution is obtained in the tetrad theory of gravitation. This solution is characterized by two-parameters $k_1, k_2$ of spherically symmetric static Lorentzian wormhole which is obtained as a solution of the equation $ρ=ρ_t=0$ with $ρ=T_{i,j}u^iu^j$, $ρ_t=(T_{ij}-\displaystyle{1 \over 2}Tg_{ij}) u^iu^j$ where $u^iu_i=-1$. From this solution which contains an arbitrary function we can generates the other two solutions obtained before. The associated metric of this spacetime is a static Lorentzian wormhole and it includes the Schwarzschild black hole, a family of naked singularity and …
Observations indicate that intergalactic magnetic fields have amplitudes of the order of $\sim 10^{-6}$ G and are uniform on scales of $\sim 10$ kpc. Despite their wide presence in the Universe, their origin remains an open issue. Even by invoking a dynamo mechanism or a compression effect for magnetic field amplification, the existence of seed fields before galaxy formation is still problematic. General Relativity predicts an adiabatic decrease of the magnetic field evolving as $|\mathbf{B}|\propto 1/a^{2}$, where $a$ is the scale factor of the Universe. It results in very small primordial fi…
We construct a theory in which the gravitational interaction is described only by torsion, but that generalizes the Teleparallel Theory still keeping the invariance of local Lorentz transformations in one particular case. We show that our theory falls, to a certain limit of a real parameter, in the $f(\bar{R})$ Gravity or, to another limit of the same real parameter, in a modified $f(T)$ Gravity, interpolating between these two theories and still can fall on several other theories. We explicitly show the equivalence with $f(\bar{R})$ Gravity for cases of Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker fla…
In this work, we explore disformal transformations in the context of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity and modified teleparallel gravity. We present explicit formulas in components for disformal transformations of the main geometric objects in these theories such as torsion tensor, torsion vector and contortion. Most importantly, we consider the boundary term which distinguishes the torsion scalar from the Ricci scalar. With that we show for $f(T)$ gravity that disformal transformations from the Jordan frame representation are unable to straightforwardly remove local Lorentz br…
In the context of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity, we show that the energy-momentum density for the gravitational field can be described by a true spacetime tensor. It is also invariant under local (gauge) translations of the tangent space coordinates, but transforms covariantly only under global Lorentz transformations. When the gauge gravitational field equation is written in a purely spacetime form, it becomes the teleparallel equivalent of Einstein's equation, and we recover Møller's expression for the canonical gravitational energy-momentum pseudotensor.
We study the Teleparallel Equivalent of General Relativity (TEGR) with Lagrangian that includes the flat (inertial) spin connection and that is evidently invariant with respect to local Lorentz rotations. Applying directly the Noether theorem, we construct new expressions for conserved currents and related superpotentials. They are covariant both under coordinate transformations and local Lorentz rotations, and allow us to construct well defined conserved charges, unlike earlier approaches. The advantage is achieved by an explicit presence of a displacement vector in the new expressions that c…
Despite the fact that General Relativity (GR) has been very successful, many alternative theories of gravity have attracted the attention of a significant number of theoretical physicists. Among these theories, we have theories with conformal symmetry. Here, the use of Weyl geometry to deal with conformal teleparallel gravity is reviewed in great detail. As an application, a model that can be set to be equivalent to the Teleparallel Equivalent of General Relativity (TEGR) and is invariant under diffeomorphisms, local Lorentz transformations (LLT) and Weyl transformations (WT) is created. Some …
A gravitational theory of a scalar field non-minimally coupled with torsion and boundary term is considered with the aim to construct Lorentzian wormholes. Geometrical parameters including shape and redshift functions are obtained for these solutions. We adopt the formalism of Noether Gauge Symmetry Approach in order to find symmetries, Lie brackets and invariants (conserved quantities). Furthermore by imposing specific forms of potential function, we are able to calculate metric coefficients and discuss their geometrical behavior.
An axiomatization of the so-called Teleparallel Equivalent to General Relativity is presented. A set of formal and semantic postulates are elaborated from where the physical meaning of various key concepts of the theory are clarified. These concepts include those of inertia, Lorentz and diffeomorphism invariance, and reference frame. It is shown that Teleparallel Gravity admits a wider representation of space-time than General Relativity, allowing to define properties of the gravitational field such as energy and momentum that are usually considered problematic. In this sense, although the dyn…
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…
Teleparallel gravity has significantly increased in popularity in recent decades, bringing attention to Einstein's other theory of gravity. In this Review, we relate this form of geometry to the broader metric-affine approach to forming gravitational theories where we describe a systematic way of constructing consistent teleparallel theories that respect certain physical conditions such as local Lorentz invariance. We first use teleparallel gravity to formulate a teleparallel equivalent of general relativity which is dynamically equivalent to general relativity but which may have different beh…
The teleparallel version of Lewis-Papapetrou space-time is investigated. For this space-time the true discussion of the geometric and physical properties is given. We show that the value of space-like torsion-axial vector does not depend on the choice of tetrad field. Consequently, the spin procession of the Dirac particle and the corresponding Hamiltonian do. The energy and momentum densities for such space-time are calculated. We show that when choosing two sets of tetrad fields the dependence and independence of the aforementioned quantities on the tetrad field depend on the Lorentz factor,…
Teleparallel gravity theories employ a tetrad and a Lorentz spin connection as independent variables in their covariant formulation. In order to solve their field equations, it is helpful to search for solutions which exhibit certain amounts of symmetry, such as spherical or cosmological symmetry. In this article we present how to apply the notion of spacetime symmetries known from Cartan geometry to teleparallel geometries. We explicitly derive the most general tetrads and spin connections which are compatible with axial, spherical, cosmological and maximal symmetry. For homogeneous and isotr…
In the context of a gauge theory for the translation group, we have obtained, for a spinless particle, a gravitational analog of the Lorentz force. Then, we have shown that this force equation can be rewritten in terms of magnitudes related to either the teleparallel or the riemannian structures induced in spacetime by the presence of the gravitational field. In the first case, it gives a force equation, with torsion playing the role of force. In the second, it gives the usual geodesic equation of General Relativity. The main conclusion is that scalar matter is able to feel anyone of the above…
This work generalizes the treatment of flat spin connections in the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity. It is shown that a general flat spin connection form a subspace in the affine space of spin connections which is dynamically decoupled from the tetrad and the matter fields. A translation in the affine subspace introduces a torsion term without changing the tetrad. Instead, the change in the torsion is related to the introduction of a global acceleration field term that introduces Lorentz inertial effects in the reference frame. The dynamics of the gravitationally coupled matter f…
