Bimodular Gravity: Unimodularising Bimetric Scalar-Tensor Gravity
Abstract
It is the object of the present paper to unimodularise a disformal bimetric scalar-tensor theory, thereby defining what we call bimodular gravity. We impose one unimodular constraint per metric via multipliers and show that two natural implementations-a dual fixed-determinant (BUG) and a dual diffeomorphism-invariant (BHT/BDUG) formulation-are classically inequivalent. In BUG the relative volume element is fixed, enforcing a kinematic constraint on the biscalar and we derive the "bimodular cosmological constant" . In BHT/BDUG, are individually constant but (hence ) remains dynamical. Recasting the theory in an Einstein-frame form, we derive the biscalar sound speed and identify a subluminal domain . At the background level, BUG admits constant-roll solutions governed by first-order flow, whereas BHT supports solutions with time-dependent roll. These structural differences yield distinct, in-principle testable predictions for the expansion history, the dark-energy equation of state, and the propagation of biscalar perturbations. Finally, we present a diffeomorphism-invariant completion that correlates the two HT volume forms, reproducing the of BUG on shell whilst maintaining full covariance.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2511.13562,
title = {Bimodular Gravity: Unimodularising Bimetric Scalar-Tensor Gravity},
author = {James Hallam and João Magueijo},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.13562},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
12 pages, presenting the results of an MSc Thesis