Related papers: Scale invariant cosmology II: model equations and …
Exact cosmological solutions are obtained for a five dimensional inhomogeneous fluid distribution along with a Brans-Dicke type of scalar field. The set includes varied forms of matter field including $\rho+p=0$, where p is the 3D isotropic…
The configuration space of general relativity is superspace - the space of all Riemannian 3-metrics modulo diffeomorphisms. However, it has been argued that the configuration space for gravity should be conformal superspace - the space of…
We present a comparative analysis of observational low-redshift background constraints on three candidate models for explaining the low-redshift acceleration of the universe. The generalized coupling model by Feng and Carloni and the scale…
The dynamics of expansion of the Universe and evolution of scalar perturbations are studied for the quintessential scalar fields $Q$ with the classical Lagrangian satisfying the additional condition $w=const$ or $c^2_a=0$. Both…
In the first part of the thesis we focus on local symmetries. We review a self-consistent framework that we employed in order to discuss the dynamics of the theories of interest. Its merit lies in that we can make the symmetry group act…
We consider classically scale-invariant theories with non-minimally coupled scalar fields, where the Planck mass and the hierarchy of physical scales are dynamically generated. The classical theories possess a fixed point, where scale…
We construct high-precision models of the Universe that contain radiation, a cosmological constant, and periodically distributed inhomogeneous matter. The density contrasts in these models are allowed to be highly non-linear, and the…
Our conventional system of physical units is based on local or microscopic {\it dimensional} quantities which are {\it defined}, for convenience or otherwise aesthetic reasons, to be spacetime-independent. A more general choice of units may…
ecent observations of type Ia supernovae indicate that the Universe is in an accelerating phase of expansion. The fundamental quest in theoretical cosmology is to identify the origin of this phenomenon. In principle there are two…
We study scalar field theories invariant under transverse diffeomorphisms in cosmological contexts. We show that in the geometric optics approximation, the corresponding particles move along geodesics and contribute with the same active…
We propose that the size of the universe and its rate of expansion cannot be simultaneously specified with arbitrary precision, a quantum mechanical statement encoded in a deformed commutation relation for the scale factor. The deformation…
Observations of an apparent acceleration in the expansion rate of the universe, derived from measurements of high-redshift supernovae, have been used to support the hypothesis that the universe is permeated by some form of dark energy. We…
We derive a model of dark energy which evolves with time via the scale factor. The equation of state $\omega=(1-2\alpha)/(1+2\alpha)$ is studied as a function of a parameter $\alpha$ introduced in this model. In addition to the recent…
The new scale-covariant formulation of the Dirac's Large Number Hypothesis (LNH) is proposed. The basic equations of LNH are formulated in the scale-covariant and "G-invariant" (invariant on the transformation law for G) form. On the basis…
We study global scale invariance along with the unimodular gravity in the vacuum. The global scale invariant gravitational action which follows the unimodular general coordinate transformations is considered without invoking any scalar…
A range of cosmological observations demonstrate an accelerated expansion of the Universe, and the most likely explanation of this phenomenon is a cosmological constant. Given the importance of understanding the underlying physics, it is…
We present an approach to cosmological perturbations based on a covariant perturbative expansion between two worldlines in the real inhomogeneous universe. As an application, at an arbitrary order we define an exact scalar quantity which…
We show that the current accelerated expansion of the Universe can be explained without resorting to dark energy. Models of generalized modified gravity, with inverse powers of the curvature can have late time accelerating attractors…
We study the path of light rays passing near a massive object, in the context of the scale invariant equation of the geodesics first obtained by Dirac (1973). Using the exterior Schwarzschild solution for the metric, we derive the complete…
In this thesis, the implications of a new cosmological model are studied, which has features similar to that of decaying vacuum cosmologies. Decaying vacuum (or cosmological constant \Lambda) models are the results of attempts to resolve…