Related papers: Testing for w<-1 in the Solar System
In the presence of large extra dimensions, the fundamental Planck scale can be much lower than the apparent four-dimensional Planck scale. In this setup, the weak gravity conjecture implies a much more stringent constraint on the UV cutoff…
We estimate the possible variations of the gravitational constant G in the framework of a generalized (Bergmann-Wagoner-Nordtvedt) scalar-tensor theory of gravity on the basis of the field equations, without using their special solutions.…
Despite the success of Maxwell's electromagnetism in the description of the electromagnetic interactions on small scales, we know very little about the behaviour of electromagnetic fields on cosmological distances. Thus, it has been…
The expansion history of the Universe reconstructed from a combination of recent data indicates a preference for a changing Dark Energy (DE) density. Moreover, the DE density appears to be increasing with cosmic time, with its equation of…
The scalar-vector-tensor theories with second-order equations of motion can accommodate both Horndeski and generalized Proca theories as specific cases. In the presence of a perfect fluid, we study the cosmology in such a most general…
The dark energy that appears to produce the accelerating expansion of the universe can be characterized by an equation of state p=w\rho with w<-1/3. A number of observational tests have been proposed to study the value or redshift…
Tensor-scalar theory is a wide class of alternative theory of gravitation that can be motivated by higher dimensional theories, by models of dark matter or dark ernergy. In the general case, the scalar field will couple non-universally to…
There is accumulating observational evidence (based on SnIa data) that the dark energy equation of state parameter $w$ may be evolving with time and crossing the phantom divide barrier $w=-1$ at recent times. The confirmation of these…
Scalar-tensor theories are among the simplest extensions of general relativity. In theories with light scalars, deviations from Einstein's theory of gravity are determined by the scalar mass m_s and by a Brans-Dicke-like coupling parameter…
We use neutron star mass and radius measurements to constrain the spontaneous scalarization phenomenon in scalar-tensor theories using Bayesian analysis. Neutron star structures in this scenario can be significantly different from the case…
Scalar-tensor theories have a long history as possible phenomenological alternatives to General Relativity, but are known to potentially produce deviations from the (strong) equivalence principle in systems involving self-gravitating…
We search for viable f(R) theories of gravity, making use of the equivalence between such theories and scalar-tensor gravity. We find that models can be made consistent with solar system constraints either by giving the scalar a high mass…
Recently, in the context of $f(R)$ modified theories of gravity, a new type of model has been proposed where one directly couples the scalar curvature to matter. As any model in $f(R)$ theory, there are certain conditions which have to be…
This talk is based on my work in collaboration with Thibault Damour since 1991. Unified theories, like superstrings, predict the existence of scalar partners to the graviton. Such theories of gravity can be very close to general relativity…
According to a scalar theory of gravity with a preferred frame, electromagnetism in the presence of a gravitational field implies that there is an additional energy tensor, which might contribute to dark matter. The expression of this…
Scalar-tensor theory of gravity with non-minimal coupling is a fairly good candidate for dark energy, required to explain late-time cosmic evolution. Here we study the very early stage of evolution of the universe with a modified version of…
Four dimensional gravity in the low energy limit of a higher dimensional theory has been expected to be a (generalized) Brans-Dicke theory. A subtle point in brane world scenarios is that the system of four dimensional effective…
We get the same degeneracy relation between $w_0$ and $w_a$ for the tachyon fields as for quintessence and phantom fields. Our results show that the dynamics of scalar fields with different origins becomes indistinguishable when the…
We report strong cosmological constraints on the Brans-Dicke (BD) theory of gravity using Cosmic Microwave Background data from Planck.We consider two types of models. First, the initial condition of the scalar field is fixed to give the…
Traditionally, inflationary models are analyzed in terms of parameters such as the scalar spectral index ns and the tensor to scalar ratio r, while dark energy models are studied in terms of the equation of state parameter w. Motivated by…