Related papers: Unimodular Quadratic Gravity and the Cosmological …
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…
The observed value of the cosmological constant poses large theoretical problems. We find that topology of the Universe provides a natural source for it. Restricting dynamically an Einstein-Cartan gravity to General Relativity in our…
Prominent approaches to quantum gravity struggle when it comes to incorporating a positive cosmological constant in their models. Using quantization of a complex $\mathrm{SL}(2,\mathbb{C})$ Chern-Simons theory we include a cosmological…
I briefly review the cosmological constant problem and the issue of dark energy (or quintessence). Within the framework of quantum field theory, the vacuum expectation value of the energy momentum tensor formally diverges as $k^4$. A cutoff…
We study the Hamiltonian structure of unimodular-like theories, where the cosmological constant (or other supposed constants of nature) are demoted from fixed parameters to classical constants of motion. No new local degrees of freedom are…
We present a quantization of unimodular gravity in the connection representation for a homogeneous, isotropic, and spatially flat cosmological model without matter. In this model, the wave function is governed by a Schr\"odinger-type…
We analyze, within the framework of unified brane gravity, the weak-field perturbations caused by the presence of matter on a 3-brane. Although deviating from the Randall-Sundrum approach, the masslessness of the graviton is still…
In addressing the cosmological constant problem, we propose that the discrepancy between the theoretical and observed values can be ascribed to the inherent uncertainty in the spacetime metric. Mach's principle, which posits that mass…
Unimodular gravity provides a theoretical framework that allows for non-conservation of energy-momentum, with possible implications for the cosmological constant problem. It is then important to study the predictions of unimodular gravity…
In a recent paper (Vigoureux et al. Int. J. Theor. Phys. 47:928, 2007) it has been suggested that the velocity of light and the expansion of the universe are two aspects of one single concept connecting space and time in the expanding…
Demanding the existence of a simple holographic $c$-theorem, it is shown that a general (parity preserving) theory of gravity in 2+1 dimensions involving upto four derivative curvature invariants reduces to the new massive gravity theory.…
One of the main technical obstacles in constructing a consistent theory of quantum gravity is that the metric itself defines the causal structure required for quantization. This motivates implementing quantum aspects of gravity through an…
In previous works, entropic gravity and ungravity have been considered as possible solutions to the dark energy and dark matter problems. To test the viability of these models, modifications to planetary orbits are calculated for ungravity…
We study unimodular gravity in the context of cosmology, particularly some interesting consequences that might be able to describe the background cosmology and the late cosmic acceleration. We focus our attention on the hypothesis of…
We discuss the hypothesis of a fixed point for quantum gravity coupled to a scalar, in the limit where the scalar field goes to infinity, accompanied by a suitable scaling of the metric. We propose that no scalar potential is present for…
We propose and solve mathematically a simple euclidean model for quantum gravity in one dimension. In the case of an open curve, the continuum limit is trivial, that is, the size of the universe is infinite, independently of the value of…
The quantum gravitational contribution to the renormalization group behavior of the electric charge in Einstein-Maxwell theory with a cosmological constant is considered. Quantum gravity is shown to lead to a contribution to the running…
We consider a model for gravity that is invariant under global scale transformations. It includes one extra real scalar field coupled non-minimally to the gravity fields. In this model all the dimensionful parameters like the gravitational…
A concise description is presented of the basic features of the formalism of non-canonical spacetime volume-forms and its application in modified gravity theories and cosmology. The well known unimodular gravity theory appears as a very…
A major unsolved problem in theoretical physics is to reconcile the classical theory of general relativity with quantum mechanics. These lectures will deal with an attempt to describe quantum gravity as a path integral over geometries known…