Related papers: Accelerating Horndeski cosmologies screening the v…
The so-called Einstein-Aether theory is General Relativity coupled (at second derivative order) to a dynamical unit time-like vector field (the aether). It is a Lorentz-violating theory, and gained much attention in the recent years. In the…
There is now strong evidence that the current energy density of the Universe is dominated by dark energy with an equation of state w<-1/3, which is causing accelerated expansion. The build-up of structure within such Universes is subject to…
This thesis explores the thermodynamics of the cosmological horizon, aiming to make progress towards a better understanding of the microscopic nature of its entropy. We utilise the constrained nature of low-dimensional gravity to do so and…
The observed accelerated expansion of the Universe may be explained by dark energy or the breakdown of general relativity (GR) on cosmological scales. When the latter case, a modified gravity scenario, is considered, it is often assumed…
Rather than obtaining cosmic acceleration with a scalar field potential (quintessence) or noncanonical kinetic term (k-essence), we can do it purely through a modified gravity braiding of the scalar and metric, i.e. the $G_3$ Horndeski…
We investigate the cosmological dynamics of FHDE within $f(T)$ gravity by employing the dynamical system approach in a spatially flat FRW background. By introducing appropriate dimensionless variables, the field equations are reformulated…
Gravitational theories differing from General Relativity may explain the accelerated expansion of the Universe without a cosmological constant. However, to pass local gravitational tests, a "screening mechanism" is needed to suppress, on…
Spatially homogeneous cosmological spacetimes, evolving in the presence of a positive cosmological constant and matter satisfying some reasonable energy conditions, typically approach the de Sitter geometry asymptotically (at least…
We consider the emergence of large-scale cosmological expansion in scalar-tensor theories of gravity. This is achieved by modelling sub-horizon regions of space-time as weak-field expansions around Minkowski space, and then subsequently…
Several exact cosmological solutions of a metric-affine theory of gravity with two torsion functions are presented. These solutions give a essentially different explanation from the one in most of previous works to the cause of the…
The effective field theory of cosmic acceleration systematizes possible contributions to the action, accounting for both dark energy and modifications of gravity. Rather than making model dependent assumptions, it includes all terms,…
The cosmological dynamics of a non-locally corrected gravity theory, involving a power of the inverse d'Alembertian, is investigated. Casting the dynamical equations into local form, the fixed points of the models are derived, as well as…
Scalar-tensor gravitational theories are important extensions of standard general relativity, which can explain both the initial inflationary evolution, as well as the late accelerating expansion of the Universe. In the present paper we…
We revisit a cosmological model where dark matter (DM) and dark energy (DE) follow barotropic equations of state, allowing deviations from the standard $\Lambda$CDM framework (i.e. $w_{dm} \neq 0$, $w_{de} \neq -1$), considering both flat…
The stability criteria for spatially flat homogeneous and isotropic cosmological dynamical system is investigated with the interaction of a scalar field endowed with a perfect fluid.In this paper, we depict the dynamical system perspective…
Positive vacuum energy together with extra dimensions of space imply that our four-dimensional Universe is unstable, generically to decompactification of the extra dimensions. Either quantum tunneling or thermal fluctuations carry one past…
This paper deals thoroughly with the scalar and electromagnetic fields of uniformly accelerated charges in de Sitter spacetime. It gives details and makes various extensions of our Physical Review Letter from 2002. The basic properties of…
A cosmological model is formulated in the context of a scalar-tensor theory of gravity in which the entire cosmic background evolution is due to a complex scalar field evolving in Minkowski spacetime, such that its (dimensional) modulus is…
Twenty years have passed since the discovery of the accelerated expansion of the Universe, reviving the interest for alternative theories of gravity. Adding a scalar degree of freedom to the usual metric of general relativity is one of the…
Well-tempering stands among the few classical methods of screening vacuum energy to deliver a late-time, low energy vacuum state. We build on the class of Horndeski models that admit a Minkowski vacuum state despite the presence of an…