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The cosmological constant problem and the compatibility of gravity with quantum mechanics are the two most pressing problems in all of gravitational theory. While string theory nicely addresses the latter, it has so far failed to provide…
We study spatially flat bouncing cosmologies and models with the early-time Genesis epoch in a popular class of generalized Galileon theories. We ask whether there exist solutions of these types which are free of gradient and ghost…
We discuss a possible mechanism to screen a cosmological constant in non-local gravity. We find that in a simple model of of non-local gravity with the Lagrangian of the form, $R+f(\Box^{-1}R)-2\Lambda$ where $f(X)$ is a quadratic function…
We argue that the cosmological constant problem can be solved in a braneworld model with infinite-volume extra dimensions, avoiding no-go arguments applicable to theories that are four-dimensional in the infrared. Gravity on the brane…
In the bimetric scalar-tensor gravitational theory there are two frames associated with the two metrics {\hat g}_{\mu\nu} and g_{\mu\nu}, which are linked by the gradients of a scalar field \phi. The choice of a comoving frame for the…
I briefly discuss the challenges presented by attempting to modify general relativity to obtain an explanation for the observed accelerated expansion of the universe. Foremost among these are the questions of theoretical consistency - the…
We derive a family of exact solutions for bi-metric gravity with an exchange symmetry between the two metrics. In this two-parameter family of solutions the gravitational field is sourced by a time-independent massless scalar field. We find…
We consider an extended theory of Horava-Lifshitz gravity with the detailed balance condition softly breaking, but without the projectability condition. With the former, the number of independent coupling constants is significantly reduced.…
We investigate the linear cosmological perturbations of Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity in a FRW universe without any matter. Our results show that a new gauge invariant dynamical scalar mode emerges, due to the gauge transformation under the…
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…
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…
We discuss in detail a particularly simple example of a bimetric massive gravity model which seems to offer an alternative to the standard cosmological model at background level. For small redshifts, its equation of state is…
We consider the issues that arise out of interpreting the ghost-free bimetric theory as a theory of a spin-2 field coupled to gravity. This requires identifying a gravitational metric and parameterizing deviations of the resulting theory…
We argue that scale invariance is not anomalous in quantum field theory, provided it is broken cosmologically. We consider a locally scale invariant extension of the Standard Model of particle physics and argue that it fits both the…
We consider linear perturbations about a homogeneous and isotropic cosmological background in the projectable version of Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz gravity. Starting from the action for cosmological perturbations, we identify the canonically…
We explore a dark energy model with a ghost scalar field in the context of the runaway dilaton scenario in low-energy effective string theory. We address the problem of vacuum stability by implementing higher-order derivative terms and show…
The hybrid metric-Palatini theory of gravity (HMPG), proposed in 2012 by T. Harko et al., is known to successfully describe both local (solar-system) and cosmological observations. We discuss static, spherically symmetric vacuum solutions…
We consider the branch of the projectable Horava-Lifshitz model which exhibits ghost instabilities in the low energy limit. It turns out that, due to the Lorentz violating structure of the model and to the presence of a finite strong…
We explore simple but novel bouncing solutions of general relativity that avoid singularities. These solutions require curvature k=+1, and are supported by a negative cosmological term and matter with -1 < w < -1/3. In the case of moderate…
Quantum gravity can determine the dependence of gauge couplings in a scalar field, which is related to possible fifth forces and time varying fundamental "constants". This prediction is based on the scaling solution of functional flow…