Letter: Gravitational Potential in the Palatini Formulation of Modified Gravity

General Relativity has so far passed almost all the ground-based and solar-system experiments. Any reasonable extended gravity models should consistently reduce to it at least in the weak field approximation. In this work we derive the gravitational potential for the Palatini formulation of the modified gravity of the L(R) type which admits a de Sitter vacuum solution. We argue that the Newtonian limit is always obtained in those class of models and the deviations from General Relativity are very small for a slowly moving source.     

Letter: The Force of Gravity from a Lagrangian Containing Inverse Powers of the Ricci Scalar

We determine the gravitational response to a diffuse source, in a locally de Sitter background, of a class of theories which modify the Einstein-Hilbert action by adding a term proportional to an inverse power of the Ricci scalar. We find a linearly growing force which is not phenomenologically acceptable.     

Letter: Palatini Formulation of Modified Gravity with Squared Scalar Curvature

In this paper we show that in the Palatini formulation of modified gravity, a R ² term cannot lead to an early time inflation, in opposite to the well-known conclusion when considering this model in the metric formulation.     

On the Newtonian limit of the Weyl tensor

In this note we wish to complement some recent work in the cosmological literature concerning the Weyl conformal curvature tensor and its parts. In particular, we shall give a clear-cut definition of the Newtonian limits of electric and magnetic parts of the Weyl tensor. We also discuss that only a subset of the relativistic equations is needed to obtain a closed system of equations in the Newtonian limit.     

Modified Gravity with ln R Terms and Cosmic Acceleration

The modified gravity with ln R or R ^–n (ln R) ^m terms which grow at small curvature is discussed. It is shown that such a model which has a well-defined Newtonian limit may eliminate the need for dark energy and may provide the current cosmic acceleration. It is demonstrated that R ² terms are important not only for early time inflation but also to avoid the instabilities and the linear growth of the gravitational force. It is very interesting that the condition of no linear growth for gravitational force coincides with the one for scalar mass in the equivalent scalar-tensor theory to be very large. Thus, modified gravity with R ² term seems to be a viable classical theory.     

Letter: The Quantum Theory of the Quadratic Gravity Action for Heterotic Strings

The wave function for the quadratic gravity theory derived from the heterotic string effective action is deduced to first order in by solving a perturbed second-order Wheeler-DeWitt equation, assuming that the potential is slowly varying with respect to . Predictions for inflation based on the solutionto the second-order Wheeler-DeWitt equation continue to hold for this higher-order theory. It is shown how formal expressions for the average paths in minisuperspace {a(t), (t)} for this theory can be used to determine the shifts from the classical solutions a _cl (t) and _cl (t), which occur only at third order in the expansion of the functional integrals representing the expectation values.     

Cosmology of Brane-Induced Gravity Models

We review various aspects of the cosmology of brane-induced gravity models. After recalling some properties of these models, we give the equations governing the cosmological dynamics in a Z ₂ symmetric case. We then discuss properties of two particular solutions of interest, a self-accelerating solution that has been proposed to provide an alternative explanation to the observed late time acceleration of the universe, and a self-flattening solution. The latter is also discussed in relation with the van Dam–Veltman–Zakharov discontinuity.     

A Relativistic Gauge Theory of Nonlinear Quantum Mechanics and Newtonian Gravity

A new kind of gauge theory is introduced, where the minimal coupling and corresponding covariant derivatives are defined in the space of functions pertaining to the functional Schrödinger picture of a given field theory. While, for simplicity, we study the example of a \(\mathcal{U}(1)\) symmetry, this kind of gauge theory can accommodate other symmetries as well. We consider the resulting relativistic nonlinear extension of quantum mechanics and show that it incorporates gravity in the (0+1)-dimensional limit, similar to recently studied Schrödinger-Newton equations. Gravity is encoded here into a universal nonlinear extension of quantum theory. A probabilistic interpretation (Born’s rule) holds, provided the underlying model is scale free.     

The structure of the Newtonian limit

We consider a smooth one-parameter family of four-dimensional manifolds X,≥0, each one endowed with a covariant metric g. It is assumed that g is a Lorentz metric for each >0, i.e., the signature of g is (+,−,−,−) for >0, while the limit metric g₀ on X₀ is assumed to be degenerated of rank 1, i.e., the signature of g₀ is (+,0,0,0). We characterize when the limit manifold X₀ inherits the geometric structure of a Newtonian gravitation. The limit manifold X₀ is a Newtonian gravitation if and only if there exist the limits of the Levi-Civita connection , the curvature operator and the contravariant Einstein tensor G² as →0. Moreover, the existence of these limits is characterized in terms of the Taylor expansion of the family {g} with respect to the parameter .     

f(R) theories of gravity in the Palatini approach matched with observations

We investigate the viability of f(R) theories in the framework of the Palatini approach as solutions to the problem of the observed accelerated expansion of the universe. Two physically motivated popular choices for f(R) are considered,: power law, f(R) = β R ⁿ , and logarithmic, f(R) = α ln R. Under the Palatini approach, both Lagrangians give rise to cosmological models comprising only standard matter and undergoing a present phase of accelerated expansion. We use the Hubble diagram of type Ia Supernovae and the data on the gas mass fraction in relaxed galaxy clusters to see whether these models are able to reproduce what is observed and to constrain their parameters. It turns out that they are indeed able to fit the data with values of the Hubble constant and of the matter density parameter in agreement with some model independent estimates, but the today deceleration parameter is higher than what is measured in the concordance ΛCDM model.     

Existence of families of spacetimes with a Newtonian limit

Jürgen Ehlers developed frame theory to better understand the relationship between general relativity and Newtonian gravity. Frame theory contains a parameter λ, which can be thought of as 1/c ², where c is the speed of light. By construction, frame theory is equivalent to general relativity for λ > 0, and reduces to Newtonian gravity for λ = 0. Moreover, by setting , frame theory provides a framework to study the Newtonian limit . A number of ideas relating to frame theory that were introduced by Jürgen have subsequently found important applications to the rigorous study of both the Newtonian limit and post-Newtonian expansions. In this article, we review frame theory and discuss, in a non-technical fashion, some of the rigorous results on the Newtonian limit and post-Newtonian expansions that have followed from Jürgen’s work.     

A canonical dynamics view of the Newtonian limit of general relativity

The Newtonian limit of general relativity was Jürgen Ehlers favourite model for limit relations between theories of physics. In this contribution, for the case of isolated systems, the Newtonian limit of general relativity will be illuminated from a canonical dynamics point of view. The canonical dynamics approach naturally supplies a post-Newtonian expansion of general relativity.     

Essay: Supersymmetry, the Cosmological Constant, and a Theory of Quantum Gravity in Our Universe

There are many theories of quantum gravity, depending on asymptotic boundary conditions, and the amount of supersymmetry. The cosmological constant is one of the fundamental parameters that characterizes different theories. If it is positive, supersymmetry must be broken. A heuristic calculation shows that a cosmological constant of the observed size predicts superpartners in the TeV range. This mechanism for SUSY breaking also puts important constraints on low energy particle physics models.     

The nearly Newtonian regime in non-linear theories of gravity

The present paper reconsiders the Newtonian limit of models of modified gravity including higher order terms in the scalar curvature in the gravitational action. This was studied using the Palatini variational principle in Meng and Wang (Gen. Rel. Grav. 36, 1947 (2004)) and Domínguez and Barraco (Phys. Rev. D 70, 043505 (2004)) with contradicting results. Here a different approach is used, and problems in the previous attempts are pointed out. It is shown that models with negative powers of the scalar curvature, like the ones used to explain the present accelerated expansion, as well as their generalization which include positive powers, can give the correct Newtonian limit, as long as the coefficients of these powers are reasonably small. Some consequences of the performed analysis seem to raise doubts for the way the Newtonian limit was derived in the purely metric approach of fourth order gravity [Dick in Gen. Rel. Grav. 36, 217 (2004)]. Finally, we comment on a recent paper [Olmo in Phys. Rev. D 72, 083505 (2005)] in which the problem of the Newtonian limit of both the purely metric and the Palatini formalism is discussed, using the equivalent Brans–Dicke theory, and with which our results partly disagree.     

Letter: An Einstein-Like Theory of Gravity with a Non-Newtonian Weak-Field Limit

We propose a model describing Einstein gravity coupled to a scalar field with an exponential potential. We show that the weak-field limit of the model has static solutions given by a gravitational potential behaving for large distances as ln & ThinSpace;r. The Newtonian term GM/r appears only as subleading. Our model can be used to give a phenomenological explanation of the rotation curves of the galaxies without postulating the presence of dark matter. This can be achieved only by giving up the Einstein equivalence principle at galactic scales.     

Non-relativistic Limit of Dirac Equations in Gravitational Field and Quantum Effects of Gravity

Based on unified theory of electromagnetic interactions and gravitational interactions, the non-relativistic limit of the equation of motion of a charged Dirac particle in gravitational field is studied. From the Schrodinger equation obtained from this non-relativistic limit, we can see that the classical Newtonian gravitational potential appears as a part of the potential in the Schrodinger equation, which can explain the gravitational phase effects found in COW experiments.And because of this Newtonian gravitational potential, a quantum particle in the earth's gravitational field may form a gravitationally bound quantized state, which has already been detected in experiments. Three different kinds of phase effects related to gravitational interactions are studied in this paper, and these phase effects should be observable in some astrophysical processes. Besides, there exists direct coupling between gravitomagnetic field and quantum spin, and radiation caused by this coupling can be used to directly determine the gravitomagnetic field on the surface of a star.     

Solution to the Cosmological Constant Problem by Gauge Theory of Gravity

Based on geometry picture of gravitational gauge theory, the cosmological constant is determined theoreti-cally. The cosmological constant is related to the average energy density of gravitational gauge field. Because the energydensity of gravitational gauge field is negative, the cosmological constant is positive, which generates repulsive force onstars to make the expansion rate of the Universe accelerated. A rough estimation of it gives out its magnitude of theorder of about 10-52m-2, which is well consistent with experimental results.     

REVIEW: On the Solutions of the Vacuum Cartan Equation in Metric Affine Gravity

We review some particular solutions of the vacuum Cartan equation for the non-Riemannian part of the connection in Metric Affine Gravity, by exploiting a variational approach. As application we show how a quite general non Riemannian model gives a Proca type equation for the trace of the non metricity 1-form Q.