Related papers: Runaway dilaton models: improved constraints from …
String theory abounds with light scalar fields (the dilaton and various moduli) which create a host of observational problems, and notably some serious cosmological difficulties similar to the ones associated with the Polonyi field in the…
A special class of conformal gravity theories is proposed to solve the long standing problem of the fine-tuned cosmological constant. In the proposed model time evolution of the inflaton field leaves behind a nearly vanishing, but finite…
We test the prediction of the time variation of the fine structure constant in the string dilaton model proposed by Damour and Polyakov. First, we analize the dependence of all available observational and experimental data with the fine…
The confrontation between Einstein's gravitation theory and experimental results, notably binary pulsar data, is summarized and its significance discussed. Experiment and theory agree at the 10^{-3} level or better. All the basic structures…
We study within Palatini formalism an f(R)-gravity with f(R)= R + \alpha R^2 interacting with a dilaton and a special kind of nonlinear gauge field system containing a square-root of the standard Maxwell term, which is known to produce…
We extend f(R) theories via the addition of a fundamental scalar field. The approach is reminiscent of the dilaton field of string theory and the Brans-Dicke model. f(R) theories attracted much attention recently in view of their potential…
We study the cosmological evolution based upon a $D$-dimensional action in low-energy effective string theory in the presence of second-order curvature corrections and a modulus scalar field (dilaton or compactification modulus). A…
We present a class of models in which the coupling of the photon to an ultralight scalar field that has a time-dependent vacuum expectation value causes the fine structure constant to oscillate in time. The scalar field is assumed to…
We investigate the evolution of the homogeneous and isotropic universe within the framework of the effective string gravity with string-loop modifications of dilaton couplings. In the case of barotropic perfect fluid as a nongravitational…
The statistical tension between early and late universe measurements of the Hubble constant ($H_0$) suggests that the dark sector is dynamical rather than static. We propose that this dynamics arises from a fundamental symmetry principle:…
We consider cosmological consequences of a conformal invariant formulation of Einstein's General Relativity where instead of the scale factor of the spatial metrics in the action functional a massless scalar (dilaton) field occurs which…
We propose a simple, well-motivated and robust alternative to a metastable de Sitter vacuum in string theory, consistent with current observations of dark energy and naturally satisfying conjectured swampland constraints. Inflation ends in…
We complement the low-energy gravi-dilaton effective action of string theory with a non-local, general-covariant dilaton potential, and obtain homogeneous solutions describing a non-singular (bouncing-curvature) cosmology. We then compute,…
We develop the principle of nongravitating vacuum energy, which is implemented by changing the measure of integration from $\sqrt{-g}d^{D}x$ to an integration in an internal space of $D$ scalar fields $\phi_{a}$. As a consequence of such a…
A scalar-tensor theory of gravity is formulated in which $G$ and particle masses are allowed to vary. The theory yields a globally static cosmological model with no evolutionary timescales, no cosmological coincidences, and no flatness and…
We consider the minimal Standard Model as an effective low-energy description of an unspecified fundamental theory with spontaneously broken conformal symmetry. The effective theory exhibits classical scale invariance which manifest itself…
The cosmological constant problem is a failure of naturalness and suggests that a fine-tuning mechanism is at work, which may also address the hierarchy problem. An example -- supported by Weinberg's successful prediction of the…
We propose a framework where the string scale as well as all compact dimensions are at the electroweak scale $\sim$ TeV$^{-1}$. The weakness of gravity is attributed to the small value of the string coupling $g_s \sim 10^{-16}$, presumably…
Cuscuton Gravity is characterized as a scalar field that can be added to general relativity without introducing any new dynamical degrees of freedom on a cosmological background. Yet, it modifies gravity such that spacetime singularities…
Quintessence scenarios provide a simple explanation for the observed acceleration of the Universe. Yet, explaining why acceleration did not start a long time ago remains a challenge. The idea that the transition from radiation to matter…