Related papers: Symmetron Scalar Fields: Modified Gravity, Dark Ma…
We review the gauged quintessence scenario, wherein the quintessence scalar field responsible for dark energy is promoted to a complex field charged under a dark $U(1)$ gauge symmetry. This construction leads to new and potentially rich…
A light scalar field framework of dark energy, sometimes referred to as quintessence, introduces a fifth force between normal matter objects. Screening mechanisms, such as the chameleon model, allow the scalar field to be almost massless on…
Any field, even if it lives in a completely hidden sector, interacts with the visible sector at least via the gravitational interaction. In this paper, we show that a scalar field in such a hidden sector generically couples to the quadratic…
We study the cosmology of the dark sector consisting of (ultra) light scalars. Since the scalar mass is radiatively unstable, a special explanation is required to make the mass much smaller than the UV scale. There are two well-known…
In this article, we examine a model which proposes a common explanation for the presence of additional attractive gravitational effects -- generally considered to be due to dark matter -- in galaxies and in clusters, and for the presence of…
We examine general physical parameterisations for viable gravitational models in the $f(R)$ framework. This is related to the mass of an additional scalar field, called the scalaron, that is introduced by the theories. Using a simple…
The accelerated expansion of the universe is a rather established fact in cosmology and many different models have been proposed as a viable explanation. Many of these models are based on the standard general relativistic framework of…
We study the role that tachyon fields may play in cosmology as compared to the well-established use of minimally coupled scalar fields. We first elaborate on a kind of correspondence existing between tachyons and minimally coupled scalar…
We modify the scalar Einstein-aether theory by breaking the Lorentz invariance of a gravitational theory coupled to a Galileon type scalar field. This is done by introducing a Lagrange multiplier term into the action, thus ensuring that the…
We propose an alternative to particle dark matter that borrows ingredients of MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) while adding new key components. The first new feature is a dark matter fluid, in the form of a scalar field with small…
Realistic models of neutron and quark stars in the framework of mimetic gravity with Lagrange multiplier constraint are presented. We discuss the effect of mimetic scalar aiming to describe dark matter on mass-radius relation and the moment…
I examine how two specific examples of modified gravity explanations of cosmic acceleration help us understand some general problems confronting cosmological tests of gravity: how do we distinguish modified gravity from dark energy if they…
In this work we analyze the viability of use a particular models of scalar fields in the context of the galactic dark matter problem. These models are based on a single scalar field, minimally coupled to the gravity in a asymptotically flat…
Constraints to the mass of a scalar field and the strength of its self-interacting coupling constant are obtained. This was done using observations of stellar dynamics at the center of our galaxy and by assuming that the dark compact object…
Dark matter, a conjectured substance not directly observable but which has tremendous mass, was proposed to explain why galaxies hold together and rotate faster at their edges than predicted by Newton's Inverse Square (1/r2) Law of Gravity.…
Neutrinos coupled to an underlying scalar field in the scenario for unification of mass varying dark matter and cosmon-{\em like} dark energy is examined. In the presence of a tiny component of mass varying neutrinos, the conditions for the…
We consider the possibility of energy being exchanged between the scalar and matter fields in scalar-tensor theories of gravity. Such an exchange provides a new mechanism which can drive variations in the gravitational 'constant' G. We find…
We discuss scenarios in which the galactic dark matter in spiral galaxies is described by a long range coherent field which settles in a stationary configuration that might account for the features of the galactic rotation curves. The…
The recent interest in modified theories of gravity, involving some type of non-minimal coupling to the Ricci scalar, and the calculation of cosmological observables in the Einstein or the Jordan frame, motivate the formulation of these…
A heavy scalar field such as moduli or an inflaton generally mixes with a field responsible for the supersymmetry breaking. We study the scalar decay into the standard model particles and their superpartners, gravitinos, and the…