Related papers: Next step in gravity and cosmology: fundamental th…
Quantum gravity has been baffling the theoretical physicist for decades now: both for its mathematical obscurity and phenomenological testing. Nevertheless, the new era of precision cosmology presents a promising avenue to test the effects…
Instead of assuming a form of gravity and demand cosmology fit with $\Lambda CDM$, a potentially `viable' $f(R)$ gravity model is derived assuming an alternative model of cosmology. Taking the `designer' approach to $f(R)$, a new class of…
We propose that at the beginning of the universe gravity existed in a limbo either because it was switched off or because it was only conformally coupled to all particles. This picture can be reverse-engineered from the requirement that the…
In this review paper we present some basic notions about f(R) theories of gravity and some simple cosmological models derived from it. We first make an introduction to General Relativity (GR), followed by the discussion of…
We discuss the dynamical system approach applied to Higher Order Theories of Gravity. We show that once the theory of gravity has been specified, the cosmological equations can be written as a first-order autonomous system and we give…
Determining cosmological field equations represents a still very debated matter and implies a wide discussion around different theoretical proposals. A suitable conceptual scheme could be represented by gravity models that naturally…
A comparison of the standard models in particle physics and in cosmology demonstrates that they are not compatible, though both are well established. Basics of modern cosmology are briefly reviewed. It is argued that the measurements of the…
We review the implications of modern higher-dimensional theories of gravity for astrophysics and cosmology. In particular, we discuss the latest developments of space-time-matter theory in connection with dark matter, particle dynamics and…
Building on earlier work, we discuss a general framework for exploring the cosmological dynamics of Higher Order Theories of Gravity. We show that once the theory of gravity has been specified, the cosmological equations can be written as a…
This article gives a concise overview of the development and current status of studies on healthy models of the early Universe without an initial singularity, namely the cosmological bounce and Genesis scenarios, constructed within a broad…
A class of well-behaved modified gravity models with long enough matter domination epoch and a late-time accelerated expansion is confronted with SNIa, CMB, SDSS, BAO and H(z) galaxy ages data, as well as current measurements of the linear…
Modifications to gravity can provide attractive alternatives to the dark components of the standard model of cosmology. These modifications to general relativity (GR) must be hidden at small scales where theory is well tested, and so one…
We explore some cosmological features of the newly suggested 4D Gauss-Bonnet gravity through two different models assuming a varying cosmological constant. Observational constraints, such as the cosmic transit and the flat curvature, have…
Cosmology is built on a relativistic understanding of gravity, where the geometry of the Universe is dynamically determined by matter and energy. In the cosmological concordance model, gravity is described by General Relativity, and it is…
Loop quantum cosmology provides an efficient framework to study the evolution of the Universe beyond the classical Big Bang paradigm. Because of holonomy corrections, the singularity is replaced by a "bounce". The dynamics of the background…
Modified gravity theories are a popular alternative to dark energy as a possible explanation for the observed accelerating cosmic expansion, and their cosmological tests are currently an active research field. Studies in recent years have…
General Relativity and the $\Lambda$CDM framework are currently the standard lore and constitute the concordance paradigm. Nevertheless, long-standing open theoretical issues, as well as possible new observational ones arising from the…
Recent results about topological coset models are summarized. The action of a topological ${G\over H}$ coset model ($rank\ H = rank\ G$) is written down as a sum of ``decoupled" matter, gauge and ghost sectors. The physical states are in…
For two decades the hot big-bang model as been referred to as the standard cosmology -- and for good reason. For just as long cosmologists have known that there are fundamental questions that are not answered by the standard cosmology and…
In the last decade, the study of the overall shape of the universe, called Cosmic Topology, has become testable by astronomical observations, especially the data from the Cosmic Microwave Background (hereafter CMB) obtained by WMAP and…