Related papers: Stability Conditions for the Horndeski Scalar Fiel…
We reconcile seemingly conflicting statements in the literature about the behavior of cosmological solutions in modified theories of gravity where the Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian for gravity is modified by the addition of a function of the…
We investigate the implications of string Swampland criteria for alternative theories of gravity. Even though this has not rigorously been proven, there is some evidence that exact de-Sitter solutions with a positive cosmological constant…
Phenomenological functions $\Sigma$ and $\mu$ (also known as $G_{\rm light}/G$ and $G_{\rm matter}/G$) are commonly used to parameterize possible modifications of the Poisson equation relating the matter density contrast to the lensing and…
In cubic-order Horndeski theories where a scalar field $\phi$ is coupled to nonrelativistic matter with a field-dependent coupling $Q(\phi)$, we derive the most general Lagrangian having scaling solutions on the isotropic and homogenous…
We study the cosmology of a generalized Galileon field $\phi$ with five covariant Lagrangians in which $\phi$ is replaced by general scalar functions $f_{i}(\phi)$ (i=1,...,5). For these theories, the equations of motion remain at…
We review the effective field theory of modified gravity in which the Lagrangian involves three dimensional geometric quantities appearing in the 3+1 decomposition of space-time. On the flat isotropic cosmological background we expand a…
We investigate the radiative stability of Horndeski scalar-tensor theories with luminally propagating gravitational waves (as extensively discussed in the wake of GW170817) and show that in general there is a tension between obtaining…
The tachyonic instability is associated with the unboundedness of the Hamiltonian from below and results in an unstable low-$k$ regime. In the cosmological exploration of modified gravity, it is seldom taken into account, with more focus…
A new approach for embedding the renormalization group running of Newton's constant and cosmological constant in gravity is proposed. This approach is based on a gravitational Lagrangian that gives rise to a new class of modified gravity…
We consider asymptotically anti de Sitter gravity coupled to a scalar field with mass slightly above the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound. This theory admits a large class of consistent boundary conditions characterized by an arbitrary function…
We investigate anisotropic and homogeneous cosmological models in the scalar-tensor theory of gravity with non-minimal kinetic coupling of a scalar field to the curvature given by the function $\eta\cdot(\phi/2)\cdot G_{\mu\nu}\,\nabla^\mu…
We derive the equations of linear cosmological perturbations for the general Lagrangian density $f (R,\phi, X)/2+L_c$, where $R$ is a Ricci scalar, $\phi$ is a scalar field, and $X=-(\nabla \phi)^2/2$ is a field kinetic energy. We take into…
In gravitational theories where a canonical scalar field $\phi$ with a potential $V(\phi)$ is coupled to a Gauss-Bonnet (GB) term ${\cal G}$ with the Lagrangian $f(\phi,{\cal G})$, we study the cosmological stability of tensor and scalar…
It is known that the construction of a completely stable solution in Horndeski theory is restricted very strongly by the so-called no-go theorem. Previously, various techniques have been used to avoid the conditions of the theorem. In this…
The most general covariant action describing gravity coupled to a scalar field with only second order equations of motion, Horndeski's theory (also known as "Generalized Galileons"), provides an all-encompassing model in which single scalar…
A fundamental criterion of viability of any gravity theory is existence of a stable ground-state solution being either Minkowski, dS or AdS space. Stability of the ground state is independent of which frame is physical. In general, a given…
The null energy condition can be violated stably in generalized Galileon theories, which gives rise to the possibilities of healthy non-singular cosmologies. However, it has been reported that in many cases cosmological solutions are…
Cosmic acceleration may be due to modifications of cosmic gravity and to test this we need robust connections between theory and observations. However, in a model independent approach like effective field theory or a broad class like…
We study the cosmology of an extended version of Horndeski theories with second-order equations of motion on the flat Friedmann-Lema\^{i}tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) background. In addition to a dark energy field $\chi$ associated with the…
In the Horndeski's most general scalar-tensor theories with second-order field equations, we derive the conditions for the avoidance of ghosts and Laplacian instabilities associated with scalar, tensor, and vector perturbations in the…