Related papers: Self-accelerating Massive Gravity: Covariant Pertu…
We consider, in Minkowski spacetime, higher-order Maxwell Lagrangians with terms quadratic in the derivatives of the field strength tensor, and study their degrees of freedom. Using a 3+1 decomposition of these Lagrangians, we extract the…
Performing Hamiltonian analysis of the massive gravity [9] in full phase space, we see that the theory is ghost free. We also see in a more clear way that this result is intrinsic of the interaction term and does not depend on the variables…
We show that the phase space of three-dimensional gravity contains two layers of dualities: between diffeomorphisms and a notion of "dual diffeomorphisms" on the one hand, and between first order curvature and torsion on the other hand.…
The generalised-geometric formulation of 10-dimensional supergravity suggests a particular simple "limit", which results in a theory whose only dynamical degrees of freedom are the dilaton and the dilatino. The theory is still invariant…
We present a clear, step-by-step method for counting degrees of freedom and identifying constraints in general field theories. This approach, grounded in the works of Einstein, Hilbert, Cartan, Kuranishi, and, more recently, Seiler, is…
In the first part of the thesis, and after an introduction to certain models of modified gravity, we study consistent Lagrangians for Lorentz invariant (massive and massless) spin-2 and spin-3/2 particles in flat space. The second part of…
General matterless models of gravity include dilaton gravity, arbitrary powers in curvature, but also dynamical torsion. They are a special class of "Poisson-sigma-models" whose solutions are known completely, together with their general…
We analyze a bi-gravity model based on the first order formalism, having as fundamental variables two tetrads but only one Lorentz connection. We show that on a large class of backgrounds its linearization agrees with general relativity. At…
After summarizing basic concepts for the exterior algebra we firstly discuss the gauge structure of the bundle over base manifold for deciding the form of the gravitational sector of the total Lagrangian in any dimensions. Then we couple…
The usual Chern-Simons extension of Einstein gravity theory consists in adding a squared Riemann contribution to the Hilbert Lagrangian, which means that a square-curvature term is added to the linear-curvature leading term governing the…
We study the Hamiltonian formulation of the generally covariant theory defined by the Lagrangian 4-form L=e_I e_J F^{IJ}(\omega) where e^I is a tetrad field and F^{IJ} is the curvature of a Lorentz connection \omega^{IJ}. This theory can be…
We revisit the two-field mimetic gravity model with shift symmetries recently proposed in the literature, especially the problems of degrees of freedom and stabilities. We first study the model at the linear cosmological perturbation level…
f(T) gravity is a generalization of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity (TEGR), where T is the torsion scalar made up of the Weitzenb\"{o}ck connection. This connection describes a spacetime with zero curvature but with…
A background-independent route towards a universal continuum limit in discrete models of quantum gravity proceeds through a background-independent form of coarse graining. This review provides a pedagogical introduction to the conceptual…
We investigate a class of spatially covariant vector field theories on a flat background, where the Lagrangians are constructed as polynomials of first-order derivatives of the vector field. Because Lorentz and $\mathrm{U}(1)$ invariances…
A scalar field theory with 4-derivative kinetic terms and 4-derivative cubic and quartic couplings is presented as a proxy for quantum quadratic gravity (QQG). The scalar theory is renormalizable and asymptotically free and the remaining…
We consider gravity in three dimensions with an arbitrary number of curvature corrections. We show that such corrections are always functions of only three independent curvature invariants. Demanding the existence of a holographic c-theorem…
In this work we study the cosmology of the general f(T) gravity theory. We express the modified Einstein equations using covariant quantities, and derive the gauge-invariant perturbation equations in covariant form. We consider a specific…
The most general Lagrangian for dynamical torsion theory quadratic in curvature and torsion is considered. We impose two simple and physically reasonable constraints on the solutions of the equations of motion: (i) there must be solutions…
A systematic study of the different phases of Lorentz-breaking massive gravity in a curved background is performed. For tensor and vector modes, the analysis is very close to that of Minkowski space. The most interesting results are in the…