Related papers: Vector and tensor contributions to the curvature p…
A number of scalar field models proposed as alternatives to the standard inflationary scenario involve contracting phases which precede the universe's present phase of expansion. An important question concerning such models is whether there…
An old question surrounding bouncing models concerns their stability under vector perturbations. Considering perfect fluids or scalar fields, vector perturbations evolve kinematically as $a^{-2}$, where $a$ is the scale factor.…
Recent work has emphasised the importance of vector and tensor contributions to the large scale microwave anisotropy fluctuations produced by cosmic defects. In this paper we provide a general discussion of these contributions, and how…
We investigate the scalar sector of linear cosmological perturbations in quadratic gravity. Working in the Einstein frame, we derive the equations of motion in a gauge-independent manner and express them in terms of three sets of…
We revisit and clarify the gauge dependence of gravitational waves generated at second order from scalar perturbations. In a universe dominated by a perfect fluid with a constant equation-of-state parameter $w$, we compute the energy…
The purpose of this paper is to explore, in a space of four-dimensions, the possible forms that second-order, bi-scalar-vector-tensor field equations derivable from a variational principle can assume. In order to restrict this enormous…
We present a gauge-invariant formalism to study the evolution of the curvature and entropy perturbations in the case in which spatial and time variations of the inflaton decay rate into ordinary matter are present. During the reheating…
We study the perturbations up to the 2nd-order for a power-law inflation driven by a scalar field in synchronous coordinates. We present the 1st-order solutions, and analytically solve the 2nd-order perturbed Einstein equation and scalar…
We investigate the cosmological background evolution and perturbations in a general class of spatially covariant theories of gravity, which propagates two tensor modes and one scalar mode. We show that the structure of the theory is…
A covariant scalar-tensor-vector gravity theory is developed which allows the gravitational constant $G$, a vector field coupling $\omega$ and the vector field mass $\mu$ to vary with space and time. The equations of motion for a test…
Even though the energy carried by a gravitational wave is not itself gauge invariant, the interaction with a gravitational antenna of the gravitational wave which carries that energy is. It therefore has to be possible to make some…
A consistent implementation of quantum gravity is expected to change the familiar notions of space, time and the propagation of matter in drastic ways. This will have consequences on very small scales, but also gives rise to correction…
Accounting for all the relativistic effects, we have developed the fully nonlinear gauge-invariant formalism for describing the cosmological observables and presented the second-order perturbative expressions associated with light…
Since a positive future detection of non-linearity in the cosmic microwave background anisotropy pattern might allow to descriminate among different mechanisms giving rise to cosmological adiabatic perturbations, we study the evolution of…
Increasingly accurate observations are driving theoretical cosmology toward the use of more sophisticated descriptions of matter and the study of nonlinear perturbations of FL cosmologies, whose governing equations are notoriously…
A theory of gravity with torsion is examined in which the torsion tensor is constructed from the exterior derivative of an antisymmetric rank two potential plus the dual of the gradient of a scalar field. Field equations for the theory are…
In the non-relativistic theory of gravity recently proposed by Horava, the Hamiltonian constraint is not satisfied locally at each point in space. The absence of the local Hamiltonian constraint allows the system to have an extra…
We present a covariant formalism for studying nonlinear perturbations of scalar fields. In particular, we consider the case of two scalar fields and introduce the notion of adiabatic and isocurvature covectors. We obtain differential…
The superhorizon (iso)curvature perturbations are conserved if the following conditions are satisfied: (i) (each) non adiabatic pressure perturbation is zero, (ii) the gradient terms are ignored, that is, at the leading order of the…
Gauge-invariant treatments of general-relativistic higher-order perturbations on generic background spacetime is proposed. We show the fact that the linear-order metric perturbation is decomposed into gauge-invariant and gauge-variant…