Related papers: Gravity with a generalized conformal scalar field:…
The Horndeski action is the most general scalar-tensor theory with at most second-order derivatives in the equations of motion, thus evading Ostrogradsky instabilities and making it of interest when modifying gravity at large scales. To…
In arbitrary higher dimension, we consider the combination of Lovelock gravity alongside a scalar-tensor action built out of higher order operators and Euler densities. The latter action is constructed in such a way as to ensure conformal…
We show that the action of Einstein's gravity with a scalar field coupled in a generic way to spacetime curvature is invariant under a particular set of conformal transformations. These transformations relate dual theories for which the…
Horndeski gravity holds a special position as the most general extension of Einstein's theory of general relativity with a single scalar degree of freedom and second-order field equations. Because of these features, Horndeski gravity is an…
New spherically symmetric solution in 4D Einstein--Gauss--Bonnet gravity coupled with nonlinear electrodynamics is obtained. At infinity this solution has the Reissner--Nordstr\"{o}m behavior of the charged black hole. The black hole…
General Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity with a cosmological constant allows two (A)dS spacetimes as its vacuum solutions. We find a critical point in the parameter space where the two (A)dS spacetimes coalesce into one and the linearized…
The occurrence of singularities at the centers of black holes suggests that general relativity (GR), although a highly successful model of gravity and cosmology, is inapplicable. This is due to the breakdown of the equivalence principle.…
We study the gravitational collapse of a homogeneous time-dependent scalar field that, besides its coupling to curvature, it is also kinematically coupled to the Einstein tensor. This coupling is a part of the Horndeski theory and we…
I discuss the relation between arbitrarily high-order theories of gravity and scalar-tensor gravity at the level of the field equations and the action. I show that $(2n+4)$-order gravity is dynamically equivalent to Brans-Dicke gravity with…
We construct a topological field theory which, on the one hand, generalizes BF theories in that there is non-trivial coupling to `topological matter fields'; and, on the other, generalizes the three-dimensional model of Carlip and Gegenberg…
General 2d dilaton theories, containing spherically symmetric gravity and hence the Schwarzschild black hole as a special case, are quantized by an exact path integral of their geometric (Cartan-) variables. Matter, represented by minimally…
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…
We consider a "Scalar-Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet" theory in four dimension, where the scalar field couples non minimally with the Gauss-Bonnet (GB) term. This coupling with the scalar field ensures the non topological character of the GB term.…
We consider an Abelian gauge field coupled to a particular truncation of Horndeski theory. The Galileon field has translation symmetry and couples non minimally both to the metric and the gauge field. When the gauge-scalar coupling is zero…
We construct the most general, to cubic order in curvature, theory of gravity whose (most general) static spherically symmetric vacuum solutions are fully described by a single field equation. The theory possess the following remarkable…
We study black holes in a modified gravity scenario involving a scalar field quadratically coupled to the Gauss-Bonnet invariant. The scalar is assumed to be in a spontaneously broken phase at spatial infinity due to a bare Higgs-like…
The modified Gauss-Bonnet gravity can be motivated by a number of physical reasons, including: the uniqueness of a gravitational Lagrangian in four and higher dimensions and the leading order $\alpha^\prime$ corrections in superstring…
The Einstein-Hilbert action with a cosmological constant is the most general local four-dimensional action leading to second-order derivative equations of motion that are symmetric and divergence free. In higher dimensions, additional terms…
The conditions for the existence and stability of cosmological power-law scaling solutions are established when the Einstein-Hilbert action is modified by the inclusion of a function of the Gauss-Bonnet curvature invariant. The general form…
We investigate the absorption cross section of planar scalar massless waves impinging on spherically symmetric black holes which are solutions of the novel 4D Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet theory of gravity. Besides the mass of the black hole, the…