Related papers: Testing General Relativity with Current Cosmologic…
In this paper we present cosmological constraints on several well-known $f(R)$ models, but also on a new class of models that are variants of the Hu-Sawicki one of the form $f(R)=R-\frac{2\Lambda}{1+b\;y(R,\Lambda)}$, that interpolate…
We cross correlate the gravitational lensing map extracted from cosmic microwave background measurements by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) with the radio galaxy distribution from the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) by using a…
Given the tension between the values of the Hubble parameter $H_0$ inferred from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and from supernovae, attention is turning to time delays of strongly lensed quasars. Current time-delay measurements…
As the Universe expands, the redshift of distant sources changes with time. Here we discuss gravitational lensing phenomena that are consequence of the redshift drift between lensed source, gravitational lens, and observer. When the source…
The standard model of cosmology LCDM assumes general relativity, flat space, and the presence of a positive cosmological constant. We relax these assumptions allowing spatial curvature, time-dependent effective dark energy equation of…
Modifications of general relativity provide an alternative explanation to dark energy for the observed acceleration of the universe. We review recent developments in modified gravity theories, focusing on higher dimensional approaches and…
We study the redshift distribution of two samples of early-type gravitational lenses, extracted from a larger collection of 122 systems, to constrain the cosmological constant in the LCDM model and the parameters of a set of alternative…
Weak gravitational lensing, the deflection of light by mass, is one of the best tools to constrain the growth of cosmic structure with time and reveal the nature of dark energy. I discuss the sources of systematic uncertainty in weak…
We apply the technique of parameter-splitting to existing cosmological data sets, to check for a generic failure of dark energy models. Given a dark energy parameter, such as the energy density Omega_Lambda or equation of state w, we split…
Gravitational lensing affects observed cosmological correlation functions because observed images do not coincide with true source locations. We treat this universal effect in a general way here, deriving a single formula that can be used…
The discovery that the cosmic expansion is accelerating has been followed by an intense theoretical and experimental response in physics and astronomy. The discovery implies that our most basic notions about how gravity work are violated on…
Viable models of modified gravity designed to produce cosmic acceleration at the current epoch, closely mimic the $\Lambda$CDM model at the level of background cosmology. However, this degeneracy is generically broken at the level of linear…
We review one of the most fruitful areas in cosmology today that bridge theory and data - the temporal growth of large-scale structure. We go over the growth's physical foundations, and derive its behavior in simple cosmological models.…
We use measurements from the Planck satellite mission and galaxy redshift surveys over the last decade to test three of the basic assumptions of the standard model of cosmology, $\Lambda$CDM: the spatial curvature of the universe, the…
The theory of General Relativity predicts that, since massive bodies curve spacetime, light from a distant source would be deflected by a foreground massive object -- a phenomenon known as \emph{Gravitational Lensing}. Historically, the…
Local measurements of the Hubble expansion rate are affected by structures like galaxy clusters or voids. Here we present a fully relativistic treatment of this effect, studying how clustering modifies the mean distance (modulus)-redshift…
We analyze cosmography as a tool to constrain modified gravity theories. We take four distinct models and obtain their parameters in terms of the cosmographic parameters favored by observational data of strong gravitational lensing. We…
One way to account for the acceleration of the universe is to modify general relativity, rather than introducing dark energy. Typically, such modifications introduce new degrees of freedom. It is interesting to consider models with no new…
Observational evidence shows that gravitational lensing induces an angular correlation between the distribution of galaxies and much more distant QSOs. We use weak gravitational lensing theory to calculate this angular correlation, updating…
We investigate what current cosmological data tells us about the cosmological expansion rate in a model independent way. Specifically, we study if the expansion was decelerating at high redshifts and is accelerating now, without referring…