Related papers: The New Ekpyrotic Ghost
Recent work has shown that non-local modifications of the Einstein equations can have interesting cosmological consequences and can provide a dynamical origin for dark energy, consistent with existing data. At first sight these theories are…
The non-singular model of the Universe i.e. emergent scenario is now very well known in cosmology. In Einstein gravity such type of singularity free solution is possible in the context of non-equilibrium thermodynamical prescription (both…
In this study, we explore the thermodynamic aspects of a modified version of Rastall's gravity theory and its implications for cosmological scenarios. We analyze the role of non-conserved energy-momentum tensor equations and investigate…
This essay elucidates recent achievements of the "nongravitating vacuum energy" (NGVE) theory" which has the feature that a shift of the Lagrangian density by a constant does not affect dynamics. In the first order formalism, a constraint…
By considering a simplified but exact model for realizing the ekpyrotic scenario, we clarify various assumptions that have been used in the literature. In particular, we discuss the new ekpyrotic prescription for passing the perturbations…
We propose an algebraic analysis using a 3+1 decomposition to identify conditions for a clever cancellation of the higher derivatives, which plagued the theory with Ostrogradsky ghosts, by exploiting some existing degeneracy in the…
Combining intervals of ekpyrotic (ultra-slow) contraction with a (non-singular) classical bounce naturally leads to a novel cyclic theory of the universe in which the Hubble parameter, energy density and temperature oscillate periodically,…
The stability of cosmological solutions in the recently suggested specific mechanism of dynamical compensation of vacuum energy is studied. It is found that the solutions in the original version lead to cosmological singularity which could…
A non-singular bouncing cosmology is generically obtained in loop quantum cosmology due to non-perturbative quantum gravity effects. A similar picture can be achieved in standard general relativity in the presence of a scalar field with a…
The self-accelerating universe realizes the accelerated expansion of the universe at late times by large-distance modification of general relativity without a cosmological constant. The Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) braneworld model…
To explain the currently observed accelerated expansion of the universe, a large number of different theoretical models are presently being discussed. In one way or another, all of these contain `new physics', though at different levels.…
In this article we try to find out the conditions when a ghost field in conjunction with a barotropic fluid produces a stable accelerating expansion phase of the universe. It is seen that in many cases the ghost field produces a condensate…
The universe can be made flat and smooth by undergoing a phase of ultra-slow (ekpyrotic) contraction, a condition achievable with a single, canonical scalar field and conventional general relativity. It has been argued, though, that…
In general relativity producing a regular bounce entails violation of Null Energy Condition for a dynamical source in the model. That generically indicates existence of ghosts or other instabilities. However, in cuscuton modification of…
We propose that the solution to the cosmological vacuum energy puzzle may come from the infrared sector of the effective theory of gravity, where the impact of the trace anomaly is of upmost relevance. We proceed by introducing two…
Usually when applying the mimetic model to the early universe, higher derivative terms are needed to promote the mimetic field to be dynamical. However such models suffer from the ghost and/or the gradient instabilities and simple…
A cosmic potential which can relax the vacuum energy is proposed in a framework of scalar-tensor gravity. In the phase of the gravity scalar field around the evolution with an approximate emergent conformal symmetry, we have obtained a set…
A brief review of the physics of systems including higher derivatives in the Lagrangian is given. All such systems involve ghosts, i.e. the spectrum of the Hamiltonian is not bounded from below and the vacuum ground state is absent. Usually…
A higher derivative term is introduced in the kinetic energy of the Higgs Lagrangian in the minimal Standard Model. A logically consistent and {\it finite} field theory is obtained when some excitations of the Higgs field are quantized with…
The Ostrogradski ghost problem that appears in higher derivative system is considered for systems with constraints. A prescription for removal of the ghost creating momenta is described based on the Dirac's constraint analysis. It is shown…