Related papers: Constraining scalar-tensor quintessence by cosmic …
The framework for considering the astronomical and cosmological observations in the context of scalar-tensor quintessence in which the quintessence field also accounts for a time dependence of the gravitational constant is developed. The…
Scalar fields aptly describe equation of state of dark energy. The scalar field models were initially proposed to circumvent the fine tuning problem of cosmological constant. However, the model parameters also need a fine tuning of their…
We discuss some of the issues which we encounter when we try to invoke the scalar-tensor theories of gravitation as a theoretical basis of quintessence. One of the advantages of appealing to these theories is that they allow us to implement…
Scalar-tensor theories are the best motivated alternatives to general relativity and provide a mathematically consistent framework to test the various observable predictions. They can involve three functions of the scalar field: (i) a…
We show how the scalar field, a candidate of quintessence, in a proposed model of the scalar-tensor theories of gravity provides a way to understand a small but nonzero cosmological constant as indicated by recent observations. A particular…
We revisit a recent proposal for a definition of time in quantum cosmology, to investigate the effects of having more than one possible type of clock "at the same time". We use as test tube an extension of Einstein gravity with a massless…
Scalar-tensor theories are constrained with lunar laser ranging and supernovae data at low redshift. This allows to find some constraints on the scalar field independently on the form of its potential once the gravitation function is…
We search for viable f(R) theories of gravity, making use of the equivalence between such theories and scalar-tensor gravity. We find that models can be made consistent with solar system constraints either by giving the scalar a high mass…
We search for the most suitable set of cosmological parameters that describes the observable universe. The search includes the possibility of quintessential flat universes, i.e., the analysis is restricted to the determination of the…
Scalar-tensor theories have shown great potential in inducing tailored modifications compared to cosmic evolution in the $\Lambda$CDM model. We reconsider quintessence models in this work in the context of three driving potentials. We…
Scalar-tensor gravity represents a natural extension of general relativity. This paper investigates a conformal scalar-tensor gravity, the environmentally dependent dilaton model, and identifies regions of its parameter space potentially…
A generic feature of cosmic quintessence models is the possibility of significant energy density in the scalar field during the radiation dominated epoch. This possibility is even greater if the quintessence field begins in a…
A generalized quintessence model is presented which corresponds to a richer vacuum structure that, besides a time-dependent, slowly varying scalar field, contains a varying cosmological term. From first principles we determine a number of…
The accelerating universe is closely related to today's version of the cosmological constant problem; fine-tuning and coincidence problems. We show how successfully the scalar-tensor theory, a rather rigid theoretical idea, provides us with…
A generalized scalar-tensor theory is investigated whose cosmological term depends on both a scalar field and its time derivative. A correspondence with solutions of five-dimensional Space-Time-Matter theory is noted. Analytic solutions are…
A non--minimally coupled quintessence model is investigated and the conditions for a stationary solution to the coincidence problem are obtained. For a conformally coupled scalar field and dissipative matter, a general solution possessing…
The time variation of fundamental mass scales can have profound cosmological implications. We investigate a particular model of crossover quintessence which is compatible with all present cosmological observations. This model can also…
Forecasts and analyses of cosmological observations often rely on the assumption of a perfect theoretical model over a defined range of scales. We explore how model uncertainties and nuisance parameters in perturbative models of the matter…
We present a comprehensive study of the observational constraints on spatially flat cosmological models containing a mixture of matter and quintessence --- a time varying, spatially inhomogeneous component of the energy density of the…
An extrinsic time is identified in most isotropic and homogeneous cosmological models by matching them with the ideal clock - a parametrized system whose only "degree of freedom" is time -. Once this matching is established, the…