Related papers: Incompatibility of gravity theories with auxiliary…
Modifications of General Relativity usually include extra dynamical degrees of freedom, which to date remain undetected. Here we explore the possibility of modifying Einstein's theory by adding solely nondynamical fields. With the minimal…
Gravity theories with non-minimally coupled scalar fields are used as characteristic examples in order to demonstrate the challenges, pitfalls and future perspectives of considering alternatives to general relativity. These lecture notes…
The field equations of a generalized $f(R)$ type gravity model, in which there is an arbitrary coupling between matter and geometry, are obtained. The equations of motion for test particles are derived from a variational principle in the…
We study modified theories of gravity of the f(R) type in Palatini formalism. For a generic f(R) lagrangian, we show that the metric can be solved as the product of a scalar function times a rank-two tensor (or auxiliary metric). The scalar…
A class of theories of gravity based on a Lagrangian which depends on the curvature and metric - but not on the derivatives of the curvature tensor - is of interest in several contexts including in the development of the paradigm that…
This work investigates alternative theories of gravity, the solutions to their field equations and the constraints that can be imposed upon them from observation and experiment. Specifically, we consider the cosmologies and spherically…
GR and other metric theories of gravity are formulated with an arbitrary auxiliary curved background in a Lagrangian formalism. A new sketch of how to include spinor fields is included. Conserved quantities are obtained using Noether's…
Modified theories of gravity usually present new degrees of freedom, as well as higher order derivatives, wrong signs in certain terms and complicated couplings already present in the Lagrangian from the beginning or originated by the field…
Alternative theories of gravity have been recently studied in connection with their cosmological applications, both in the Palatini and in the metric formalism. The aim of this paper is to propose a theoretical framework (in the Palatini…
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…
f(Lovelock) gravities are simple generalizations of the usual f(R) and Lovelock theories in which the gravitational action depends on some arbitrary function of the corresponding dimensionally-extended Euler densities. In this paper we…
We show that there is a fundamental flaw in the application of modified gravity theories in cosmology, taking $f(R)$ gravity as a paradigmatic example. This theory contains a scalar degree of freedom that couples to the matter stress-energy…
In this paper, we examine the coupling of matter fields to gravity within the framework of the Standard Model of particle physics. The coupling is described in terms of Weyl fermions of a definite chirality, and employs only (anti)self-dual…
Perturbative techniques are important for modified theories of gravity since they allow to calculate deviations from General Relativity without recurring to exact solutions, which can be difficult to find. When applied to models such as…
We study modified theories of gravity of the f(R) type in Palatini formalism. We first consider the stability of atoms when the Palatini gravitational interaction is taken into account in the derivation of the non-relativistic Schrodinger…
We consider alternative theories of gravity with a direct coupling between matter and the Ricci scalar We study the relation between these theories and ordinary scalar-tensor gravity, or scalar-tensor theories which include non-standard…
We review the recent literature on modified theories of gravity in the Palatini approach. After discussing the motivations that lead to consider alternatives to Einstein's theory and to treat the metric and the connection as independent…
The way one chooses to couple gravity to matter is an essential characteristic of any gravitational theory. In theories where the gravitational field is allowed to have more degrees of freedom than those of General Relativity (e.g.…
Starting from the original Einstein action, sometimes called the Gamma squared action, we propose a new setup to formulate modified theories of gravity. This can yield a theory with second order field equations similar to those found in…
Modifications to gravity that add additional functions of the Ricci curvature to the Einstein-Hilbert action -- collectively known as $f(R)$ theories -- have been studied in great detail. When considered as complete theories of gravity they…