Related papers: Topology Change in General Relativity
Future weak lensing surveys will map the evolution of matter perturbations and gravitational potentials, yielding a new test of general relativity on cosmic scales. They will probe the relations between matter overdensities, local…
The role of topology change in a fundamental theory of quantum gravity is still a matter of debate. However, when regarding string theory as two-dimensional quantum gravity, topological fluctuations are essential. Here we present a third…
We consider general relativity with cosmological constant minimally coupled to the electromagnetic field and assume that the four-dimensional space-time manifold is a warped product of two surfaces with Lorentzian and Euclidean signature…
We study the topology associated with physical vector and scalar fields. A mathematical object, e.g., a ball, can be continuously deformed, without tearing or gluing, to make other topologically equivalent objects, e.g., a cube or a solid…
In black hole physics, inflationary cosmology, and quantum field theories, it is conjectured that the physical laws are subject to radical changes below the Planck length. Such changes are due to effects of quantum gravity believed to…
Degenerate geometrical configurations in quantum gravity are important to understand if the fate of classical singularities is to be revealed. However, not all degenerate configurations arise on an equal footing, and one must take into…
In Chapter 1 I present the current picture of the universe and briefly review the cosmological constant problem and some of the theories proposed to solve it. The following Chapters essentially contain the published papers with some…
In this note, we derive explicit formulae for the curvature of a convex sum of Riemannian metrics, \(g_t = (1-t)g_0 + t g_1\). We study whether such a deformation can increase the \emph{average} of the Riemann curvature component…
The topology of an object describes global properties that are insensitive to local perturbations. Classic examples include string knots and the genus (number of handles) of a surface: no manipulation of a closed string short of cutting it…
In this work, we review a plethora of modified theories of gravity with generalized curvature-matter couplings. The explicit nonminimal couplings, for instance, between an arbitrary function of the scalar curvature $R$ and the Lagrangian…
In its canonical formulation, general relativity is subject to gauge transformations that are equivalent to space-time coordinate changes of general covariance only when the gauge generators, given by the Hamiltonian and diffeomorphism…
It is argued that quantum gravity has an interpretation as a topological field theory provided a certain constraint from the path intergral measure is respected. The constraint forces us to couple gauge and matter fields to gravity for…
In the present work, we review some general aspects of modified gravity theories, investigating mathematical and physical properties and, more specifically, the feature of viable and realistic models able to reproduce the dark energy epoch…
Doubly special relativity has been studied for the last twenty years as a way to go beyond the special relativistic kinematics, trying to capture residual effects of a quantum gravity theory. In particular, in doubly special relativity the…
A new approach is suggested which allows to describe phenomenologically arbitrary topologies of the Universe. It consists in a generalizaton of third quantization. This quantization is carried out for the case of asymptotic closeness to a…
The hypothesis that the Lorentz transformations may be modified at Planck scale energies is further explored. We present a general formalism for theories which preserve the relativity of inertial frames with a non-linear action of the…
The properties of Lorentz transformations in de Sitter relativity are studied. It is shown that, in addition to leaving invariant the velocity of light, they also leave invariant the length-scale related to the curvature of the de Sitter…
General relativity and its cosmological solution predicts the existence of tensor modes of perturbations evolving on top of our Friedman-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker expanding Universe. Being gauge invariant and not necessarily coupled to…
We consider various mechanisms of modifying the effect of intrinsic curvature in gravity with respect to general relativity. Two primary approaches are studied. First, by considering a Lagrange multiplier or an auxiliary field. Second, by…
We recall some of the obstacles which arise when one tries to reconcile the general theory of relativity with quantum theory. We consider the possibility that gravitation theories which include torsion, and not only curvature, provide…