Related papers: Affine Connection and Quantum Theory
We present a scenario where a $Z_2$-symmetric scalar field $\phi$ first drives cosmic inflation, then reheats the Universe but remains out-of-equilibrium itself, and finally comprises the observed dark matter abundance, produced by particle…
We formulate an effective field theory (EFT) of coupled dark energy (DE) and dark matter (DM) interacting through energy and momentum transfers. In the DE sector, we exploit the EFT of vector-tensor theories with the presence of a preferred…
We construct a unified covariant derivative that contains the sum of an affine connection and a Yang-Mills field. With it we construct a lagrangian that is invariant both under diffeomorphisms and Yang-Mills gauge transformations. We assume…
We study a model of inflation in which a scalar field $\chi$ is non-minimally coupled to Starobinsky's $R^2$ gravity. After transforming it to the Einstein frame, a new scalar field, the scalaron $\phi$, will appear and couple to $\chi$…
In the framework of classical scale invariance, we consider quadratic gravity in the Palatini formalism and investigate the inflationary predictions of the theory. Our model corresponds to a two-field scalar-tensor theory, that involves the…
We propose an approach to induced gravity, or Sakharov's "metrical elasticity", which requires only an affine spacetime that accommodates scalar fields. The setup provides the induction of metric gravity from a "pure affine" action, and it…
In the recent paper [3] it was shown that the consistency of the quantum theory of a sterile scalar coupled to massive fermions requires the inclusion of odd-power terms in the potential of scalar self-interaction. One of the most important…
We propose a new theory of gravitation, in which the affine connection is the only dynamical variable describing the gravitational field. We construct the simplest dynamical Lagrangian density that is entirely composed from the connection,…
We analyse the couplings of a partially massless spin-2 field with a doublet of massless, real spin-3/2 fields. In the flat limit, this spectrum coincides with the spectrum of ${\cal N}=2$ pure supergravity around anti-de Sitter spacetime…
A model of Einstein-Hilbert action subject to the scale transformation is studied. By introducing a dilaton field as a means of scale transformation a new action is obtained whose Einstein field equations are consistent with traceless…
Powerful general arguments allow only a few families of long-range interactions, exemplified by gauge field theories of electromagnetism and gravity. However, all of these arguments presuppose that massless fields have zero spin scale…
We consider a model where a light scalar field (with mass $\lesssim 30\, {\rm eV}$), conjectured to be dark matter, has a non-minimal coupling to gravity. In the non-relativistic limit, this new coupling introduces a self-interaction term…
Dark matter (DM) can be composed of a collection of axions, or axion-like particles (ALPs), whose existence is due to the spontaneous breaking of the Peccei-Quinn $U(1)$ symmetry which is the most compelling solution of the strong…
We investigate the cosmological dynamics of interacting dark energy models in which the interaction function is a nonlinear in terms of the energy densities. Considering explicitly the interaction between a pressureless dark matter and a…
The presence of scalar fields with non-minimal gravitational interactions of the form $\xi |\phi|^2 R$ may have important implications for the physics of the early universe. While many studies solve the dynamics of non-minimally coupled…
It is investigated if massless particles can couple to scalar fields in a special relativistic theory with classical particles. The only possible obvious theory which is invariant under Lorentz transformations and reparametrization of the…
We propose a new class of gravity-matter models defined in terms of two independent non-Riemannian volume forms (alternative generally covariant integration measure densities) on the spacetime manifold. For the matter we choose appropriate…
We discuss theories of gravity with independent metric (or frame field) and connection, from the point of view of effective field theory. We count the parity-even Lagrangian terms of dimension up to four and give explicit bases for the…
Scalar field models with non-standard kinetic terms have been proposed in the context of k-inflation, of Born-Infeld lagrangians, of phantom energy and, more in general, of low-energy string theory. In general, scalar fields are expected to…
Based on the principle of reparametrization invariance, the general structure of physically relevant classical matter systems is illuminated within the Lagrangian framework. In a straightforward way, the matter Lagrangian contains…