Related papers: Domain walls without cosmological constant in high…
We study conformal theories of gravity, i.e. those whose action is invariant under the local transformation g_{\mu\nu} -> \omega^2 (x) g_{\mu\nu}. As is well known, in order to obtain Einstein gravity in 4D it is necessary to introduce a…
In the present article, which is the first part of a work in three parts, we build an equation of quantum gravity. This equation is tensorial, is equivalent to general relativity in vacuum, but differs completely from general relativity…
The Janis-Newman-Winicour metric is a solution of Einstein's gravity minimally coupled to a real massless scalar field. The $\gamma$-metric is instead a vacuum solution of Einstein's gravity. These spacetimes have no horizon and possess a…
We argue that the cosmological constant problem can be solved in a braneworld model with infinite-volume extra dimensions, avoiding no-go arguments applicable to theories that are four-dimensional in the infrared. Gravity on the brane…
We investigate whether the extra scalar degree of freedom that arises in the second connection class of scalar-tensor non-metricity gravity can accurately replicate and potentially enrich the cosmic expansion history. Focusing on a…
We show that domain walls are probes that enable one to distinguish large-distance modified gravity from general relativity (GR) at short distances. For example, low-tension domain walls are stealth in modified gravity, while they do…
The cutoff version of the AdS/CFT correspondence states that the Randall Sundrum scenario is dual to a Conformal Field Theory (CFT) coupled to gravity in four dimensions. The gravitational field produced by relativistic domain walls can be…
Disformal theories of gravity are scalar-tensor theories where the scalar couples derivatively to matter via the Jordan frame metric. These models have recently attracted interest in the cosmological context since they admit accelerating…
We study supersymmetric domain walls in N=1 supergravity theories, including those with modular-invariant superpotentials arising in superstring compactifications. Such domain walls are shown to saturate the Bogomol'nyi bound of wall energy…
Many theories of gravity admit formulations in different, conformally related manifolds, known as the Jordan and Einstein conformal frames. Among them are various scalar-tensor theories of gravity and high-order theories with the Lagrangian…
A solution of the Randall-Sundrum model for a simplified case (one wall) is obtained. It is given by the $1/k^2$-expansion (thin wall expansion) where $1/k$ is the {\it thickness} of the domain wall. The vacuum setting is done by the 5D…
We consider three dimensional gravity with a positive cosmological constant and non- zero gravitational Chern-Simons term. This theory has inflating de Sitter solutions and local metric degrees of freedom. The Euclidean signature partition…
We construct new solutions of the vacuum Einstein field equations with cosmological constant. These solutions describe spacetimes with non-trivial topology that are asymptotically dS, AdS or flat. For a negative cosmological constant these…
In this thesis, we focus on higher-curvature extensions of Einstein gravity as toy models to probe universal properties of conformal field theory (CFT) using the gauge/gravity duality. In this context, we are particularly interested in…
Group field theory (GFT) models for quantum gravity coupled to a massless scalar field give rise to cosmological models that reproduce the (expanding or contracting) dynamics of homogeneous and isotropic spacetimes in general relativity at…
We propose a phenomenological approach to the cosmological constant problem based on generally covariant non-local and acausal modifications of four-dimensional gravity at enormous distances. The effective Newton constant becomes very small…
Einstein gravity at $D\rightarrow 2$ limit can be obtained from the Kaluza-Klein procedure by taking the dimensions of the internal space to zero while keeping only the breathing mode. The resulting scalar-tensor theory can be further…
We consider a scalar field with a Gauss-Bonnet-type coupling to the curvature in a curved space-time. For such a quadratic coupling to the curvature, the metric energy-momentum tensor does not contain derivatives of the metric of orders…
The cosmology of general fourth order corrections to Einstein gravity is considered, both for a homogeneous and isotropic background and for general tensor perturbations. It is explicitly shown how the standard cosmological history can be…
We construct a class of stationary, axisymmetric, horizonless spacetimes whose curvature is generated entirely by smooth, localised differential rotation $\Omega(r)$, while the spatial geometry remains exactly flat. Despite vanishing ADM…