Related papers: Accelerating Hilbert-Einstein universe without dyn…
The discovery that we live in an accelerating universe changed drastically the paradigm of physics and introduced the concept of \textit{dark energy}. In this work, we present a brief historical description of the main events related to the…
In creating his gravitational field equations Einstein unjustifiedly assumed that inertial mass, and its energy equivalent, is a source of gravity. Denying this assumption allows modifying the field equations to a form in which a positive…
It is argued that the Brans-Dicke theory may explain the present accelerated expansion of the universe without resorting to a cosmological constant or quintessence matter
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…
The principles of General Relativity allow for a non-vanishing cosmological constant, which can possibly be interpreted at least partially in terms of quantum-fluctuations of matter fields. Depending on sign and magnitude it can cause…
Cosmic acceleration is widely believed to require either a source of negative pressure (i.e., dark energy), or a modification of gravity, which necessarily implies new degrees of freedom beyond those of Einstein gravity. In this paper we…
Brane-world models offer the possibility of explaining the late acceleration of the universe via infra-red modifications to General Relativity, rather than a dark energy field. However, one also expects ultra-violet modifications to General…
The Einstein$-$Cartan$-$Sciama$-$Kibble theory of gravity naturally extends general relativity to include quantum-mechanical, intrinsic angular momentum of matter by equipping spacetime with torsion. Using the Einstein energy$-$momentum…
The acceleration of the universe is described as a dynamical effect of the extrinsic curvature of space-time. By extending previous results, the extrinsic curvature is regarded as an independent spin-2 field, determined by a set of…
We consider a simplified model of quantum gravity using a mini-superspace description of an isotropic and homogeneous universe with dust. We derive the corresponding Friedmann equations for the scale factor, which now contain a dependence…
The acceleration of the expansion of the universe arises from unknown physical processes involving either new fields in high energy physics or modifications of gravitation theory. It is crucial for our understanding to characterize the…
The existence of current-time universe's acceleration is usually modeled by means of two main strategies. The first makes use of a dark energy barotropic fluid entering \emph{by hand} the energy-momentum tensor of Einstein's theory. The…
To accommodate the observed accelerated expansion of the universe, one popular idea is to invoke a driving term in the Friedmann-Lemaitre equation of dark energy which must then comprise 70% of the present cosmological energy density. We…
Observations provide increasingly strong evidence that the universe is accelerating. This revolutionary advance in cosmological observations confronts theoretical cosmology with a tremendous challenge, which it has so far failed to meet.…
Modern astrophysical and cosmological models are plagued with two severe theoretical difficulties, namely, the dark energy and the dark matter problems. Relative to the former, high-precision observational data have confirmed with startling…
We propose a revised formulation of General Relativity for cosmological settings, in which the Einstein constant varies with the energy density of the Universe. We demonstrate that this modification has only phenomenological impact of…
In his monumental discoveries, the driving force for Einstein was, I believe, consistency of concept and principle rather than conflict with experiment. Following this Einsteinian dictum, we would first argue that homogeneity (universal…
It is obtained that dark energy emerges from higher-derivative gravity with anon-linear terms proportional to $R^2$ and $R^3$ with $R$ being the Ricci scalar curvature. Interestingly, it is found that the universe begins with acceleration,…
Based on some observations, the apparent energy, associated with gravity, of vacuums is defined, with that of normal vacuums to be zero and that of the vacuums losing some energy to be negative. An important application of the energy is its…
In a recent paper (Phys. Rev. D95, 103504 (2017)) it is argued that, due to the fluctuations around its mean value, vacuum energy gravitates differently from what previously assumed. As a consequence, the universe would accelerate with a…