Related papers: Causal Modifications of Gravity and Their Observat…
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…
Screening mechanisms allow light scalar fields to dynamically avoid the constraints that come from our lack of observation of a long-range fifth force. Galactic scale tests are of particular interest when the light scalar is introduced to…
We explore the sensitivity of weak gravitational lensing to second-order corrections to the spacetime metric within a cosmological adaptation of the parameterized post-Newtonian framework. Whereas one might expect nonlinearities of the…
We consider scalar-tensor theories of gravity in an accelerating universe. The equations for the background evolution and the perturbations are given in full generality for any parametrization of the Lagrangian, and we stress that apparent…
For a light scalar coupled to gravity, I study the gravitational backreaction associated with large field variations. I show a generic obstruction in sourcing a super-Planckian scalar profile without making the whole experiment collapse…
Many interesting models incorporate scalar fields with non-minimal couplings to the spacetime Ricci curvature scalar. As is well known, if only one scalar field is non-minimally coupled, then one may perform a conformal transformation to a…
Alternative theories of gravity may serve to overcame several shortcomings of the standard cosmological model but, in their weak field limit, General Relativity must be recovered so as to match the tight constraints at the Solar System…
We study one loop quantum gravitational corrections to the long range force induced by the exchange of a massless scalar between two massive scalars. The various diagrams contributing to the flat space S-matrix are evaluated in a general…
In the framework of causal perturbation theory we consider a massive scalar field coupled to gravity. In the field theoretic approach to quantum gravity (QG) we start with a massless second rank tensor field. This tensor field is then…
Gravitational lensing is the deflection of light rays due to the gravity of intervening masses. This phenomenon is observed in a variety of scales and configurations, involving any non-uniform mass such as planets, stars, galaxies, clusters…
The acceleration of the universe can be explained either through dark energy or through the modification of gravity on large scales. In this paper we investigate modified gravity models and compare their observable predictions with dark…
Cosmology in extended theories of gravity is considered assuming the Palatini variational principle, for which the metric and connection are independent variables. The field equations are derived to linear order in perturbations about the…
We investigate scalar-tensor theories where matter couples to the scalar field via a kinetically dependent conformal coupling. These models can be seen as the low-energy description of invariant field theories under a global Abelian…
Non-minimally coupling a scalar field to gravity introduces an additional curvature term into the action which can change the general behavior in strong curvature regimes, in particular close to classical singularities. While one can…
We present a class of modified-gravity theories which we call ultra-local models. We add a scalar field, with negligible kinetic terms, to the Einstein-Hilbert action. We also introduce a conformal coupling to matter. This gives rise to a…
The reason for the present accelerated expansion of the Universe stands as one of the most profound questions in the realm of science, with deep connections to both cosmology and fundamental physics. From a cosmological point of view,…
A scalar field model for explaining the anomalous acceleration and light deflection at galactic and cluster scales, without further dark matter, is presented. It is formulated in a scale covariant scalar tensor theory of gravity in the…
After a decade and a half of research motivated by the accelerating universe, theory and experiment have a reached a certain level of maturity. The development of theoretical models beyond \Lambda, or smooth dark energy, often called…
The cosmological phenomenology of gravity is typically studied in two limits: relativistic perturbation theory (on large scales) and Newtonian gravity (required for smaller, non-linear, scales). Traditional approaches to model-independent…
The Einstein theory of general relativity provides a peculiar example of classical field theory ruled by non-linear partial differential equations. A number of supplementary conditions (more frequently called gauge conditions) have also…