Birkhoff's theorem in the f(T) gravity

Generalized from the so-called teleparallel gravity which is exactly equivalent to general relativity, the $f(T)$ gravity has been proposed as an alternative gravity model to account for the dark energy phenomena. In this letter we prove that the external vacuum gravitational field for a spherically symmetric distribution of source matter in the $f(T)$ gravity framework must be static and the conclusion is independent of the radial distribution and spherically symmetric motion of the source matter that is, whether it is in motion or static. As a consequence, the Birkhoff's theorem is valid in the general $f(T)$ theory. We also discuss its application in the de Sitter space-time evolution phase as preferred to by the nowadays dark energy observations.Comment: 5p

Accelerating universe from F(T) gravity

It is shown that the acceleration of the universe can be understood by considering a F(T) gravity models. For these F(T) gravity models, a variant of the accelerating cosmology reconstruction program is developed. Some explicit examples of F(T) are reconstructed from the background FRW expansion history.Comment: 13 pages, references adde

Extended Birkhoff's Theorem in the f(T) Gravity

The f(T) theory, a generally modified teleparallel gravity, has been proposed as an alternative gravity model to account for the dark energy phenomena. Following our previous work [Xin-he Meng and Ying-bin Wang, EPJC(2011), arXiv:1107.0629v1], we prove that the Birkhoff's theorem holds in a more general context, specifically with the off diagonal tetrad case, in this communication letter. Then, we discuss respectively the results of the external vacuum and internal gravitational field in the f(T) gravity framework, as well as the extended meaning of this theorem. We also investigate the validity of the Birkhoff's theorem in the frame of f(T) gravity via conformal transformation by regarding the Brans-Dicke-like scalar as effective matter, and study the equivalence between both Einstein frame and Jordan frame.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, submitted to EPJ-C. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1107.062

Birkhoff's Theorem in f(T) Gravity up to the Perturbative Order

f(T) gravity, a generally modified teleparallel gravity, has become very popular in recent times as it is able to reproduce the unification of inflation and late-time acceleration without the need of a dark energy component or an inflation field. In this present work, we investigate specifically the range of validity of Birkhoff's theorem with the general tetrad field via perturbative approach. At zero order, Birkhoff's theorem is valid and the solution is the well known Schwarzschild-(A)dS metric. Then considering the special case of the diagonal tetrad field, we present a new spherically symmetric solution in the frame of f(T) gravity up to the perturbative order. The results with the diagonal tetrad field satisfy the physical equivalence between the Jordan and the so-called Einstein frames, which are realized via conformal transformation, at least up to the first perturbative order.Comment: 8 pages, no figure. Final version, accepted for publication in EPJ

Probing the course of cosmic expansion with a combination of observational data

We study the cosmic expansion history by reconstructing the deceleration parameter $q(z)$ from the SDSS-II type Ia supernova sample (SNIa) with two different light curve fits (MLCS2k2 and SALT-II), the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) distance ratio, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) shift parameter, and the lookback time-redshift (LT) from the age of old passive galaxies. Three parametrization forms for the equation of state of dark energy (CPL, JBP, and UIS) are considered. Our results show that, for the CPL and the UIS forms, MLCS2k2 SDSS-II SNIa+BAO+CMB and MLCS2k2 SDSS-II SNIa+BAO+CMB+LT favor a currently slowing-down cosmic acceleration, but this does not occur for all other cases, where an increasing cosmic acceleration is still favored. Thus, the reconstructed evolutionary behaviors of dark energy and the course of the cosmic acceleration are highly dependent both on the light curve fitting method for the SNIa and the parametrization form for the equation of state of dark energy.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in JCA

Parametrization for the Scale Dependent Growth in Modified Gravity

We propose a scale dependent analytic approximation to the exact linear growth of density perturbations in Scalar-Tensor (ST) cosmologies. In particular, we show that on large subhorizon scales, in the Newtonian gauge, the usual scale independent subhorizon growth equation does not describe the growth of perturbations accurately, as a result of scale-dependent relativistic corrections to the Poisson equation. A comparison with exact linear numerical analysis indicates that our approximation is a significant improvement over the standard subhorizon scale independent result on large subhorizon scales. A comparison with the corresponding results in the Synchronous gauge demonstrates the validity and consistency of our analysis.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. Minor modifications and references added to match published versio

QCD ghost f(T)-gravity model

Within the framework of modified teleparallel gravity, we reconstruct a f(T) model corresponding to the QCD ghost dark energy scenario. For a spatially flat FRW universe containing only the pressureless matter, we obtain the time evolution of the torsion scalar T (or the Hubble parameter). Then, we calculate the effective torsion equation of state parameter of the QCD ghost f(T)-gravity model as well as the deceleration parameter of the universe. Furthermore, we fit the model parameters by using the latest observational data including SNeIa, CMB and BAO data. We also check the viability of our model using a cosmographic analysis approach. Moreover, we investigate the validity of the generalized second law (GSL) of gravitational thermodynamics for our model. Finally, we point out the growth rate of matter density perturbation. We conclude that in QCD ghost f(T)-gravity model, the universe begins a matter dominated phase and approaches a de Sitter regime at late times, as expected. Also this model is consistent with current data, passes the cosmographic test, satisfies the GSL and fits the data of the growth factor well as the LCDM model.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1111.726

A thermodynamic motivation for dark energy

It is argued that the discovery of cosmic acceleration could have been anticipated on thermodynamic grounds, namely, the generalized second law and the approach to equilibrium at large scale factor. Therefore, the existence of dark energy -or equivalently, some modified gravity theory- should have been expected. In general, cosmological models that satisfy the above criteria show compatibility with observational data.Comment: 22 pages, 7 eps figures; Key words: dark energy, thermodynamics, modified gravity. Comments added and arguments sharpene

Cosmic acceleration and phantom crossing in f(T)f(T)-gravity

In this paper, we propose two new models in $f(T)$ gravity to realize universe acceleration and phantom crossing due to dark torsion in the formalism. The model parameters are constrained and the observational test are discussed. The best fit results favors an accelerating universe with possible phantom crossing in the near past or future followed respectively by matter and radiation dominated era.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, Will appear in Astrophys Space Sc

Dilaton Dark Energy Model in f(R), f(T) and Horava-Lifshitz Gravities

In this work, we have considered dilaton dark energy model in Weyl-scaled induced gravitational theory in presence of barotropic fluid. It is to be noted that the dilaton field behaves as a quintessence. Here we have discussed the role of dilaton dark energy in modified gravity theories namely, f(R); f(T) and Horava-Lifshitz gravities and analyzed the behaviour of the dilaton field and the corresponding potential in respect to these modified gravity theories instead of Einstein's gravity. In f(R) and f(T) gravities, we have considered some particular forms of f(R) and f(T) and we have shown that the potentials always increase with the dilaton fields. But in Horava-Lifshitz gravity, it has been seen that the potential always decreases as dilation field increases