English

Can Horndeski Theory be recast using Teleparallel Gravity?

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2019-09-12 v2

Abstract

Horndeski gravity is the most general scalar tensor theory, with a single scalar field, leading to second order field equations and after the GW170817 it has been severely constrained. In this paper, we study the analogue of Horndeski's theory in the teleparallel gravity framework were gravity is mediated through torsion instead of curvature. We show that, even though, many terms are the same as in the curvature case, we have much richer phenomenology in the teleparallel setting because of the nature of the torsion tensor. Moreover, Teleparallel Horndenski contains the standard Horndenski gravity as a subcase and also contains many modified Teleparallel theories considered in the past, such as f(T)f(T) gravity or Teleparallel Dark energy. Thus, due to the appearing of a new term in the Lagrangian, this theory can explain dark energy without a cosmological constant, may describe a crossing of the phantom barrier, explain inflation and also solve the tension for H0H_0, making it a good candidate for a correct modified theory of gravity.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1904.10791,
  title  = {Can Horndeski Theory be recast using Teleparallel Gravity?},
  author = {Sebastian Bahamonde and Konstantinos F. Dialektopoulos and Jackson Levi Said},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1904.10791},
  year   = {2019}
}

Comments

18 pages, 1 figure

R2 v1 2026-06-23T08:48:17.842Z