Related papers: Mathematical problems in higher order gravity and …
This dissertation investigates three main topics, all of which dealing with alternative, higher-order gravity theories in four dimensions. Firstly, we study the variational and conformal structure of those theories. Next, we analyse their…
We study higher-order theories of gravitation; in particular, we will focus our attention on the second-order theory, in which conformal symmetry can be implemented.
The 1+3 covariant approach and the covariant gauge-invariant approach to perturbations are used to analyze in depth conformal transformations in cosmology. Such techniques allow us to obtain very interesting insights on the physical content…
The configuration space of general relativity is superspace - the space of all Riemannian 3-metrics modulo diffeomorphisms. However, it has been argued that the configuration space for gravity should be conformal superspace - the space of…
This thesis is devoted to the study of gravitational theories which can be seen as modifications or generalisations of General Relativity. The motivation for considering such theories, stemming from Cosmology, High Energy Physics and…
Loop quantum gravity is a mature theory. To proceed to explicit calculations in cosmology, it is necessary to make assumptions and simplifications based on the symmetries of the cosmological setting. Symmetry reduction is especially…
Quantum cosmology implies corrections to the classical equations of motion which may lead to significant departures from the classical trajectory, especially at high curvature near the big-bang singularity. Corrections could in principle be…
We study the cosmological effects of adding terms of higher-order in the usual energy-momentum tensor to the matter lagrangian of general relativity. This is in contrast to most studies of higher-order gravity which focus on generalising…
Cosmological observations are beginning to reach a level of precision that allow us to test some of the most fundamental assumptions in our working model of the Universe. One such an assumption is that gravity is governed by the General…
I briefly discuss the challenges presented by attempting to modify general relativity to obtain an explanation for the observed accelerated expansion of the universe. Foremost among these are the questions of theoretical consistency - the…
We argue that, when a theory of gravity and matter is endowed with (classical) conformal symmetry, the fine tuning required to obtain the cosmological constant at its observed value can be significantly reduced. Once tuned, the cosmological…
Building on earlier work, we discuss a general framework for exploring the cosmological dynamics of Higher Order Theories of Gravity. We show that once the theory of gravity has been specified, the cosmological equations can be written as a…
The search for a consistent and empirically established quantum theory of gravity is among the biggest open problems of fundamental physics. The obstacles are of formal and of conceptual nature. Here, I address the main conceptual problems,…
Cosmological observations indicate that the Einstein equation may not be entirely correct to describe gravity. However, numerous modifications of these equations usually do not affect foundations of the theory. In this paper two important…
Several problems in cosmology and astrophysics are described in which critical phenomena of various types may play a role. These include the organization of the disks of spiral galaxies, various aspects of the problem of structure formation…
We survey a variety of cosmological problems where the issue of generality has arisen. This is aimed at providing a wider context for many claims and deductions made when philosophers of science choose cosmological problems for…
We analyse the evolution of the rotational type cosmological perturbation in a gravity with general quadratic order gravitational coupling terms. The result is expressed independently of the generalized nature of the gravity theory, and is…
In recent years, the use of conformal transformation techniques has become widespread in the literature on gravitational theories alternative to general relativity, on cosmology, and on nonminimally coupled scalar fields. Typically, the…
We discuss the dynamical system approach applied to Higher Order Theories of Gravity. We show that once the theory of gravity has been specified, the cosmological equations can be written as a first-order autonomous system and we give…
Using dynamical system analysis, we explore the cosmology of theories of order up to eight order of the form $f(R, \Box R)$. The phase space of these cosmology reveals that higher-order terms can have a dramatic influence on the evolution…