Related papers: Generalized disformal Horndeski theories: cosmolog…
We show that gravity theories involving disformally transformed metrics in their matter coupling lead to spontaneous growth of various fields in a similar fashion to the spontaneous scalarization scenario in scalar-tensor theories.…
Theories of dark energy and modified gravity can be strongly constrained by astrophysical or cosmological observations, as illustrated by the recent observation of the gravitational wave event GW170817 and of its electromagnetic counterpart…
Starting from the Gleyzes-Langlois-Piazza-Vernizzi action, we derive the most general effective theory that is invariant under internal shifts and a $\mathbb{Z}_2$ mirror symmetry in the scalar sector. Contrary to what one may think, this…
We review how the (absence of) Ostrogradsky instability manifests itself in theories with multiple fields. It has recently been appreciated that when multiple fields are present, the existence of higher derivatives may not automatically…
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…
It has been pointed out that matter bounce cosmology driven by a k-essence field cannot satisfy simultaneously the observational bounds on the tensor-to-scalar ratio and non-Gaussianity of the curvature perturbation. In this paper, we show…
Degenerate scalar-tensor theories of gravity extend general relativity by a single degree of freedom, despite their equations of motion being higher than second order. In some cases, this is a mere consequence of a disformal field…
In this paper we construct a class of Degenerate Higher-Order Scalar-Tensor (DHOST) theories with an extra scalar field, which admits viable solutions of bouncing universe satisfying the following requirements: (i) absence of…
In this work we study the role of disformal transformation on cosmological backgrounds and its relation to the speed of sound for tensor modes. A speed different from one for tensor modes can arise in several contexts, such as Galileons…
We investigate gravitational waves with an arbitrary potential within the framework of linearized Horndeski theory. We show that the minimum of the potential can play the role of an effective cosmological constant in this theory, which is…
A necessary condition for a generally covariant scalar-tensor theory to be ghostfree is that it contains no extra degrees of freedom in the unitary gauge, in which the Lagrangian corresponds to the spatially covariant gravity. Comparing…
Most existing theories of dark energy and/or modified gravity, involving a scalar degree of freedom, can be conveniently described within the framework of the Effective Theory of Dark Energy, based on the unitary gauge where the scalar…
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…
Gravitational waves offer a potent mean to test the underlying theory of gravity. In general theories of gravity, such as scalar-tensor theories, one expects modifications in the friction term and the sound speed in the gravitational wave…
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…
Higher derivative scalar interactions can give rise to interesting cosmological scenarios. We present a complete classification of such operators that can yield sizeable effects without introducing ghosts and, at the same time, define an…
Twenty years have passed since the discovery of the accelerated expansion of the Universe, reviving the interest for alternative theories of gravity. Adding a scalar degree of freedom to the usual metric of general relativity is one of the…
In dark-energy models where a scalar field is nonminimally coupled to the spacetime geometry, gravitational waves are expected to be supplemented with a scalar mode. Such scalar waves may interact with the standard tensor waves, thereby…
Conformal and disformal transformations are now being very intensively studied in the context of various modified gravity theories. In particular, some special classes of them can be used for constructing Mimetic Dark Matter models.…
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…