Related papers: Phantom without UV pathology
Dark energy constraints have forced viable alternatives that differ substantially from a cosmological constant Lambda to have an equation of state w that evolves across the phantom divide set by Lambda. Naively, crossing this divide makes…
We examine the evolution of a closed, homogeneous and anisotropic cosmology subject to a variation of the fine structure 'constant', \alpha, within the context of the theory introduced by Bekenstein, Sandvik, Barrow and Magueijo, which…
In generalized Proca theories, characterized by a vector field with broken $U(1)$ gauge invariance, late-time cosmic acceleration can be realized with a dark energy equation of state in the regime $w_{\rm DE} < -1$. In such scenarios,…
We discuss a model with stable topological solitons in Minkowski space with only three degrees of freedom, the rotational angles of a spatial Dreibein. This model has four types of solitons differing in two topological quantum numbers which…
The Gleyzes-Langlois-Piazza-Vernizzi (GLPV) theories up to quartic order are the general scheme of scalar-tensor theories allowing the possibility for realizing the tensor propagation speed $c_t$ equivalent to 1 on the isotropic…
We construct explicit examples of globally regular static, spherically symmetric solutions in general relativity with scalar and electromagnetic fields, describing traversable wormholes with flat and AdS asymptotics and regular black holes,…
We analyze conformal gravity in translationally invariant approximation, where the metric is taken to depend on time but not on spatial coordinates. We find that the field mode which in perturbation theory has a ghostlike kinetic term,…
We study the phase space asymptotics of the so called Veneziano ghost dark energy models. Models where the ghost field's energy density: i) $\rho_{ghost}\propto H$, and ii) $\rho_{ghost}\propto H+H^2$, are investigated. Both, cases with and…
We present a consistent effective theory that violates the null energy condition (NEC) without developing any instabilities or other pathological features. The model is the ghost condensate with the global shift symmetry softly broken by a…
The energy in the ghost-free massive gravity theory is calculated via explicitly resolving the initial value constraints for spherically symmetric deformations of flat space. It turns out that the energy is positive in some cases, but in…
We study the creation and evolution of cosmological perturbations in renormalizable quadratic gravity with a Weyl term. We adopt a prescription that implies the stability of the vacuum at the price of introducing a massive spin-two ghost…
In the Horndeski's most general scalar-tensor theories with second-order field equations, we derive the conditions for the avoidance of ghosts and Laplacian instabilities associated with scalar, tensor, and vector perturbations in the…
The detection of the GW170817/GRB170817A event improved the constraints on the propagation speed of gravitational waves, thus placing possible variations caused by dark energy under restraint. For models based on scalar fields belonging to…
Sidney Coleman has noted that superluminal particles or observers would be able to go back in time and have no definite trajectory according to subluminal observers, while not violating Lorentz invariance [1]. Recently, Dragan and Ekert…
We present evidence that the simplest particle-physics scalar-field models of dynamical dark energy can be separated into distinct behaviors based on the acceleration or deceleration of the field as it evolves down its potential towards a…
Microcausality -- the vanishing of commutators outside the lightcone -- is a fundamental property of relativistic quantum field theories. We derive its implications for two-point functions of scalar operators on {\it Lorentz-breaking}…
Penrose's weak cosmic censorship conjecture asserts that spacetime singularities produced by gravitational collapse are generically hidden behind event horizons, thus preventing them from causally influencing distant observers and…
Superluminal particles are not excluded by particle physics. The apparent Lorentz invariance of the laws of physics does not imply that space-time is indeed minkowskian. Matter made of solutions of Lorentz-invariant equations would feel a…
The dynamics of typical phase transitions is studied out of equilibrium in weakly coupled inflaton-type scalar field theories in Minkowski space. The shortcomings of the effective potential and equilibrium descriptions are pointed out. A…
We present a simple class of mechanical models where a canonical degree of freedom interacts with another one with a negative kinetic term, i.e. with a ghost. We prove analytically that the classical motion of the system is completely…