13 research outputs found
Long distance modifications of gravity in four dimensions
We discuss some general characteristics of modifications of the 4D
Einstein-Hilbert action that become important for low space-time curvatures. In
particular we focus on the chameleon-like behaviour of the massive
gravitational degrees of freedom. Generically there is at least one extra
scalar that is light on cosmic scales, but for certain models it becomes heavy
close to any mass source.Comment: 4 pages, contribution to the proceedings of the Rencontres de
Moriond: Contents and Structures of the Universe, March 18-25, 2006, La
Thuil
Dark energy, MOND and sub-millimeter tests of gravity
We consider modifications of General Relativity obtained by adding the
logarithm of some curvature invariants to the Einstein-Hilbert action. These
non-linear actions can explain the late-time acceleration of the universe
giving an expansion history that differs from that of a pure cosmological
constant. We show that they also modify the Newtonian potential below a fixed
acceleration scale given by the late-time Hubble constant times the speed of
light. This is exactly what is required in MOND, a phenomenological
modification of the Newtonian potential that is capable of explaining galactic
rotation curves without the need to introduce dark matter. We show that this
kind of modification also predicts short distance deviations of Newton's law at
the sub-mm scale and an anomalous shift in the precession of the Moon's orbit
around the Earth, both effects of a size that is less than an order of
magnitude below current bounds.Comment: 6 pages, to appear in proceedings of the XLIrst Rencontres de Morion
f(R) actions, cosmic acceleration and local tests of gravity
We study spherically symmetric solutions in f(R) theories and its
compatibility with local tests of gravity. We start by clarifying the range of
validity of the weak field expansion and show that for many models proposed to
address the Dark Energy problem this expansion breaks down in realistic
situations. This invalidates the conclusions of several papers that make
inappropriate use of this expansion. For the stable models that modify gravity
only at small curvatures we find that when the asymptotic background curvature
is large we approximately recover the solutions of Einstein gravity through the
so-called Chameleon mechanism, as a result of the non-linear dynamics of the
extra scalar degree of freedom contained in the metric. In these models one
would observe a transition from Einstein to scalar-tensor gravity as the
Universe expands and the background curvature diminishes. Assuming an adiabatic
evolution we estimate the redshift at which this transition would take place
for a source with given mass and radius. We also show that models of dynamical
Dark Energy claimed to be compatible with tests of gravity because the mass of
the scalar is large in vacuum (e.g. those that also include R^2 corrections in
the action), are not viable.Comment: 26 page
Dark Energy, scalar-curvature couplings and a critical acceleration scale
We study the effects of coupling a cosmologically rolling scalar field to
higher order curvature terms. We show that when the strong coupling scale of
the theory is on the 10^{-3}-10^{-1}eV range, the model passes all experimental
bounds on the existence of fifth forces even if the field has a mass of the
order of the Hubble scale in vacuum and non-suppressed couplings to SM fields.
The reason is that the coupling to certain curvature invariant acts as an
effective mass that grows in regions of large curvature. This prevents the
field from rolling down its potential near sources and makes its effects on
fifth-force search experiments performed in the laboratory to be observable
only at the sub-mm scale. We obtain the static spherically symmetric solutions
of the theory and show that a long-range force appears but it is turned on only
below a fixed Newtonian acceleration scale of the order of the Hubble constant.
We comment on the possibility of using this feature of the model to alleviate
the CDM small scale crisis and on its possible relation to MOND.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
Compactifications of conformal gravity
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 scalar compensator with a VEV that spontaneously breaks the
conformal invariance and generates the Planck mass. We show that the
compactification of extra dimensions in a higher dimensional conformal theory
of gravity also yields Einstein gravity in lower dimensions, without the need
to introduce the scalar compensator. It is the field associated with the size
of the extra dimensions (the radion) who takes the role of the scalar
compensator in 4D. The radion has in this case no physical excitations since
they are gauged away in the Einstein frame for the metric. In these models the
stabilization of the size of the extra dimensions is therefore automatic.Comment: 13 page
Spherically symmetric solutions in f(R)-gravity via Noether Symmetry Approach
We search for spherically symmetric solutions of f(R) theories of gravity via
the Noether Symmetry Approach. A general formalism in the metric framework is
developed considering a point-like f(R)-Lagrangian where spherical symmetry is
required. Examples of exact solutions are given.Comment: 17 pages, to appear in Class. Quant. Gra
Extended quintessence, inflation, and stable de Sitter spaces
A new gauge-invariant criterion for stability against inhomogeneous
perturbations of de Sitter space is applied to scenarios of dark energy and
inflation in scalar-tensor gravity. The results extend previous studies.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, to appear in Class. Quantum Gra
Expansion history and f(R) modified gravity
We attempt to fit cosmological data using modified Lagrangians
containing inverse powers of the Ricci scalar varied with respect to the
metric. While we can fit the supernova data well, we confirm the behaviour at medium to high redshifts reported elsewhere and argue
that the easiest way to show that this class of models are inconsistent with
the data is by considering the thickness of the last scattering surface. For
the best fit parameters to the supernova data, the simplest 1/R model gives
rise to a last scattering surface of thickness , inconsistent
with observations.Comment: accepted in JCAP, presentation clarified, results and conclusions
unchange
Modified-Source Gravity and Cosmological Structure Formation
One way to account for the acceleration of the universe is to modify general
relativity, rather than introducing dark energy. Typically, such modifications
introduce new degrees of freedom. It is interesting to consider models with no
new degrees of freedom, but with a modified dependence on the conventional
energy-momentum tensor; the Palatini formulation of theories is one
example. Such theories offer an interesting testing ground for investigations
of cosmological modified gravity. In this paper we study the evolution of
structure in these ``modified-source gravity'' theories. In the linear regime,
density perturbations exhibit scale dependent runaway growth at late times and,
in particular, a mode of a given wavenumber goes nonlinear at a higher redshift
than in the standard CDM model. We discuss the implications of this
behavior and why there are reasons to expect that the growth will be cut off in
the nonlinear regime. Assuming that this holds in a full nonlinear analysis, we
briefly describe how upcoming measurements may probe the differences between
the modified theory and the standard CDM model.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures, uses iopart styl
Reconstruction of the Scalar-Tensor Lagrangian from a LCDM Background and Noether Symmetry
We consider scalar-tensor theories and reconstruct their potential U(\Phi)
and coupling F(\Phi) by demanding a background LCDM cosmology. In particular we
impose a background cosmic history H(z) provided by the usual flat LCDM
parameterization through the radiation (w_{eff}=1/3), matter (w_{eff}=0) and
deSitter (w_{eff}=-1) eras. The cosmological dynamical system which is
constrained to obey the LCDM cosmic history presents five critical points in
each era, one of which corresponding to the standard General Relativity (GR).
In the cases that differ from GR, the reconstructed coupling and potential are
of the form F(\Phi)\sim \Phi^2 and U(\Phi)\sim F(\Phi)^m where m is a constant.
This class of scalar tensor theories is also theoretically motivated by a
completely independent approach: imposing maximal Noether symmetry on the
scalar-tensor Lagrangian. This approach provides independently: i) the form of
the coupling and the potential as F(\Phi)\sim \Phi^2 and U(\Phi)\sim F(\Phi)^m,
ii) a conserved charge related to the potential and the coupling and iii)
allows the derivation of exact solutions by first integrals of motion.Comment: Added comments, discussion, references. 15 revtex pages, 5 fugure