Related papers: Self-accelerating solutions of scalar-tensor gravi…
In this work, we review a plethora of modified theories of gravity with generalized curvature-matter couplings. The explicit nonminimal couplings, for instance, between an arbitrary function of the scalar curvature $R$ and the Lagrangian…
The issues of quintessence and cosmic acceleration can be discussed in the framework of $F(R, {\cal G})$ theories of gravity where $R$ is the Ricci curvature scalar and ${\cal G}$ is the Gauss-Bonnet topological invariant. It is possible to…
We study spherically-symmetric structures in Conformal Gravity and in a scalar-tensor extension and gain some more insight about these gravitational theories. In both cases we analyze solutions in two systems: perfect fluid solutions and…
We demonstrate that there are theories that exhibit spontaneous scalarization in the strong gravity regime while having General Relativity with a constant scalar as a cosmological attractor. We identify the minimal model that has this…
We generalize tensor-scalar theories of gravitation by the introduction of an abnormally weighting type of energy. This theory of tensor-scalar anomalous gravity is based on a relaxation of the weak equivalence principle that is now…
Modifications to gravity that add additional functions of the Ricci curvature to the Einstein-Hilbert action -- collectively known as $f(R)$ theories -- have been studied in great detail. When considered as complete theories of gravity they…
We develop a geometric realization of a broad class of generalized black hole entropy functionals by establishing their direct correspondence with the Misner$-$Sharp quasilocal mass and the Wald Noether$-$charge entropy in scalar$-$tensor…
We study Higgs-like inflation in the framework of scalar-torsion gravity, focusing on the general class of $f(T,\phi)$ theories in which gravitation is mediated by torsion rather than curvature. Motivated by the increasing precision of…
We examine theories of gravity which include finitely many coupled scalar fields with arbitrary couplings to the curvature (wavemaps). We show that the most general scalar-tensor $\sigma$-model action is conformally equivalent to general…
In the framework of scalar-tensor theories of gravity, we construct a new kind of cosmological model that conflates inflation and ekpyrosis. During a phase of conflation, the universe undergoes accelerated expansion, but with crucial…
In special-relativistic physics, spacetime is imbued with a fixed, non-dynamical metric tensor. A path to gravitational theory is to promote this tensor to a genuine dynamical field. An alternative description of special-relativistic…
The main subjects of the PhD dissertation concern cosmological models considered in Palatini f(R) gravity and scalar-tensor theories. We introduce a simple generalization of the LCDM model based on Palatini modified gravity with quadratic…
If the graviton is the only high spin particle present during inflation, then the form of the observable tensor three-point function is fixed by de Sitter symmetry at leading order in slow-roll, regardless of the theory, to be a linear…
Using the cosmological perturbation theory in terms of the delta-N formalism, we find the simple formulation of the evolution of the curvature perturbation in generalized gravity theories. Compared with the standard gravity theory, a…
We consider Friedmann-Lema\^{\i}tre-Robertson-Walker flat cosmological models in the framework of general Jordan frame scalar-tensor theories of gravity with arbitrary coupling function and potential. For the era when the cosmological…
We describe scalar-bimetric theories where the dynamics of the Universe are governed by two separate metrics, each with an Einstein-Hilbert term. In this setting, the baryonic and dark matter components of the Universe couple to metrics…
We consider the hypothesis of a limiting minimal curvature in gravity as a way to construct a class of theories exhibiting late-time cosmic acceleration. Guided by the minimal curvature conjecture (MCC) we are naturally lead to a set of…
The discovery of the accelerated expansion of the universe highlighted General Relativity's inability to naturally account for dark energy without invoking a finely tuned cosmological constant. In response, a wide range of alternative…
We construct black hole solutions in four-dimensional quadratic gravity, supported by a scalar field conformally coupled to quadratic terms in the curvature. The conformal matter Lagrangian is constructed with powers of traces of a…
The availability of scaling solutions in renormalisation group improved versions of cosmology are investigated in the high-energy limit. We adopt $f(R)$-type models of quantum gravity which display an interacting ultraviolet fixed point at…