Related papers: Scalar-tensor gravity from thermodynamic and fluid…
Scalar-tensor theories are studied in the context of cosmological evolution, where the expansion history of the Universe is reconstructed. It is considered quintessence/phantom models, where inflation and cosmic acceleration are reproduced.…
We discuss some of the issues which we encounter when we try to invoke the scalar-tensor theories of gravitation as a theoretical basis of quintessence. One of the advantages of appealing to these theories is that they allow us to implement…
The duality of gravitational dynamics (projected on a null hypersurface) and of fluid dynamics is investigated for the scalar tensor (ST) theory of gravity. The description of ST gravity, in both Einstein and Jordan frames, is analyzed from…
We present a direct confirmation of the validity of the equivalence principle for unstructured test bodies in scalar tensor gravity. Our analysis is complementary to previous approaches and valid for a large class of scalar-tensor theories…
Scalar fields with inverse power-law effective potentials may provide a negative pressure component to the energy density of the universe today, as required by cosmological observations. In order to be cosmologically relevant today, the…
The weak field limit of scalar tensor theories of gravity is discussed in view of conformal transformations. Specifically, we consider how physical quantities, like gravitational potentials derived in the Newtonian approximation for the…
Global properties of vacuum static, spherically symmetric configurations are studied in a general class of scalar-tensor theories (STT) of gravity in various dimensions. The conformal mapping between the Jordan and Einstein frames is used…
In the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence, an explicit relation between the physical degrees of freedom of 2+1d gravity and the stress tensor of 1+1d conformal field theory is exhibited. Gravity encodes thermodynamic state variables of…
Gravity is a macroscopic manifestation of a microscopic quantum theory of space-time, just as the theories of elasticity and hydrodynamics are the macroscopic manifestation of the underlying quantum theory of atoms. The connection of…
We discuss equivalent representations of gravity in the framework of metric-affine geometries pointing out basic concepts from where these theories stem out. In particular, we take into account tetrads and spin connection to describe the so…
A scalar theory of gravity extending Newtonian gravity to include field energy as its source is developed. The physical implications of the theory are probed through its spherically symmetric (source) solutions. The aim is to demonstrate…
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…
The duality between a higher curvature $f(R)$ gravity model and a scalar-tensor theory helps to bring out the role of the additional degree of freedom originating from the higher derivative terms in the gravity action. Such a degree of…
Transverse Diffeomorphism (TDiff) theories are well-motivated theories of gravity from the quantum perspective, which are based upon a gauge symmetry principle. The main contribution of this work is to firmly establish a correspondence…
Teleparallel description of gravity theories where the gravity is mediated through the tetrad field and consequent torsion provide an alternative route to explain the late time cosmic speed up issue. Generalization of the teleparallel…
Gravitational waves provide a new probe into the strong-field regime of gravity. It is thus essential to identify the predictions of General Relativity on the nature of the two-body problem, and to contrast them to alternative theories.…
If the presence of a gravitational field breaks the Lorentz symmetry valid for special relativity, an "absolute motion" might be detectable. We summarize a scalar theory of gravity with a such "ether", which starts from a tentative…
A new thermodynamics of scalar-tensor gravity is applied to spatially homogeneous and isotropic cosmologies in this class of theories and tested on analytical solutions. A forever-expanding universe approaches the Einstein "state of…
We study a general Scalar-Tensor Theory with an arbitrary coupling funtion $\omega (\phi )$ but also an arbitrary dependence of the ``gravitational constant'' $G(\phi )$ in the cases in which either one of them, or both, do not admit an…
A linear Lorentz connection has always two fundamental derived characteristics: curvature and torsion. The latter is assumed to vanish in general relativity. Three gravitational models involving non-vanishing torsion are examined:…