Related papers: Causal Modifications of Gravity and Their Observat…
Scalar-tensor theories of gravity modify General Relativity by introducing a scalar field that couples non-minimally to the metric tensor, while satisfying the weak-equivalence principle. These theories are interesting because they have the…
We examine the role of consistency with causality and quantum mechanics in determining the properties of gravitation. We begin by examining two different classes of interacting theories of massless spin 2 particles -- gravitons. One…
Viable modifications of gravity on cosmological scales predominantly rely on screening mechanisms to recover Einstein's Theory of General Relativity in the Solar System, where it has been well tested. A parametrisation of the effects of…
Scalar fields are crucial components in high energy physics and extensions of General Relativity. The fact they are not observed in the solar system may be due to a mechanism which screens their presence in high dense regions. We show how…
Cosmological scalar fields coupled to the Standard Model drive temporal variations in the fundamental constants that grow with redshift, positioning the early Universe as a powerful tool to study such models. We investigate the dynamics and…
In general, modified gravity theories are modifications or extensions of Einstein's general relativity. Some of them give rise to additional scalar degrees of freedom in Nature. If these scalar fields exist and are light enough, they should…
Many modifications of gravity introduce new scalar degrees of freedom, and in such theories matter fields typically couple to an effective metric that depends on both the true metric of spacetime and on the scalar field and its derivatives.…
It is shown that extensions to General Relativity, which introduce a strongly coupled scalar field, can be viable if the interaction has a non-conformal form. Such disformal coupling depends upon the gradients of the scalar field. Thus, if…
That preferred-frame theory accounts for special relativity and reduces to it if the gravitation field cancels. Starting from an interpretation of gravity as a pressure force, it is based on just one scalar field. This scalar gives the…
When augmenting our cosmological models or gravitational theories with an additional light scalar field, any coupling between matter and this scalar can affect the orbital motion of binary systems. Ordinarily, the new force mediated by the…
Solar-System constraints on a general scalar-tensor theory with generic non-minimal coupling function, non-canonical kinetic function, and scalar potential, are investigated in both the metric and Palatini formalisms. A unified…
We explore the possibility of testing modified gravity exhibiting the Vainshtein mechanism against observations of cluster lensing. We work in the most general scalar-tensor theory with second-order field equations (Horndeski's theory), and…
We examine general physical parameterisations for viable gravitational models in the $f(R)$ framework. This is related to the mass of an additional scalar field, called the scalaron, that is introduced by the theories. Using a simple…
The mystery of dark energy suggests that there is new gravitational physics on long length scales. Yet light degrees of freedom in gravity are strictly limited by Solar System observations. We can resolve this apparent contradiction by…
We study large families of theories of interacting spin 2 particles from the point of view of causality. Although it is often stated that there is a unique Lorentz invariant effective theory of massless spin 2, namely general relativity,…
A modified gravitational model whose action is given by an arbitrary function of the Ricci scalar, the matter Lagrangian density, a scalar field, and its kinetic term is investigated as an extension of the gravitational sector including an…
This paper is concerned with theories of gravity that contain a scalar coupled both conformally and disformally to matter through the metric. By systematically deriving the non-relativistic limit, it is shown that no new non-linear…
Spontaneous scalarization is an interesting mechanism for modification of gravity by nonminimal coupling of a scalar field to matter or curvature invariants in the context of scalar-tensor theories, and its onset is signaled by linear…
Light scalar fields very naturally appear in modern cosmological models, affecting such parameters of Standard Model as electromagnetic fine structure constant $\alpha$, dimensionless ratios of electron or quark mass to the QCD scale,…
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…