Almost-homogeneity of the universe in higher-order gravity

In the R+R² gravity theory, we show that if freely propagating massless particles have an almost isotropic distribution, then the spacetime is almost Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (frw). This extends the result proved recently in general relativity ( = 0), which is applicable to the microwave background after photon decoupling. The higher-order result is in principle applicable to a massless species that decouples in the early universe, such as a relic graviton background. Any future observations that show small anisotropies in such a background would imply that the geometry of the early universe were almostfrw.     

Friedmann universe in a quantum gravity model

It is shown that, in a model theory of gravity, which quantises only the conformal part, the Robertson-Walker universe has a nonsingular evolution. The method also shows that there arises a lower bound to the physical length scale in any static metric with positive curvature.     

Bouncing universe models in an extended gravity theory

Some bouncing models are investigated in the framework of an extended theory of gravity. The extended gravity model is a simple extension of the General Relativity where an additional matter geometry coupling is introduced to account for the late time cosmic speed up phenomena. The dynamics of the models are discussed in the background of a flat FRW universe. Some viable models are reconstructed for specifically assumed bouncing scale factors. The behavior of the models are found to be decided mostly by the parameters of the respective models. The extended gravity based minimal matter-geometry coupling parameter has a role to remove the omega singularity occurring at the bouncing epoch. It is noted that the constructed models violate the energy conditions, however, in some cases this violation leads to the evolution of the models in phantom phase. The stability of the models are analyzed under linear homogeneous perturbations and it is found that, near the bounce, the models show instability but the perturbations decay out smoothly to provide stable models at late times.     

High-energy gravity and the very early universe

It is suggested that gravity may not be asymptotically free at short distances because of the interaction of the graviton with matter. If gravity indeed becomes strong at high energies, a revolutionary change of our present theory on the early universe would seem to be necessary. During the first extremely small fraction of a second in the big-bang universe, gravity would have been so strong that it might not have been described by Einstein's theory of general relativity. The possibility of abnormally strong gravity at high energies or short distances is discussed in some detail. A possible explanation is proposed for the nonvanishing mean baryon number density of the universe. It is also pointed out that the universe may well escape from the catastrophic singularity of Penrose and Hawking.     

Singular fate of the universe in modified theories of gravity

In this Letter we study the final fate of the universe in modified theories of gravity. As compared with general relativistic formulations, in these scenarios the Friedmann equation has additional terms which are relevant for low density epochs. We analyze the sort of future singularities to be found under the usual assumption the expanding Universe is solely filled with a pressureless component. We report our results using two schemes: one concerned with the behavior of curvature scalars, and a more refined one linked to observers. Some examples with a very solid theoretical motivation and some others with a more phenomenological nature are used for illustration.     

Modified entropic gravity revisited

Inspired by Verlinde’s idea,some modified versions of entropic gravity have been suggested.Extending them in a unified formalism,herein we derive the generalized gravitational equations accordingly.From gravitational equations,the energy-momentum conservation law and cosmological equations are investigated.The covariant conservation law of energy-momentum tensor severely constrains viable modifications of entropic gravity.A discrepancy arises when two independent methods are applied to the homogeneous isotropic universe,posing a serious challenge to modified models of entropic gravity.     

Reconstruction of a scalar-tensor theory of gravity in an accelerating universe

The present acceleration of the Universe strongly indicated by recent observational data can be modeled in the scope of a scalar-tensor theory of gravity. We show that it is possible to determine the structure of this theory along with the present density of dustlike matter from two observable cosmological functions: the luminosity distance and the linear density perturbation in the dustlike matter component as functions of redshift. Explicit results are presented in the first order in the small inverse Brans-Dicke parameter omega(-1).     

Decaying cosmological parameter in the early universe from NKK theory of gravity

Using a formalism recently introduced we study the decaying of the cosmological parameter during the early evolution of an universe, whose evolution is governed by a vacuum equation of state. We use a stochastic approach in a nonperturbative treatment of the inflaton field from a Noncompact Kaluza–Klein (NKK) theory, to study the evolution of energy density fluctuations in the early universe.     

Bianchi type I expanding universe in Weyl-invariant gravity with a quartic interaction term

We will focus on the effect of a Weyl-invariant model with a quadratic interaction term and a free scalar field \(\psi \). A set of analytic solutions will be obtained for this model. This model provides a dynamical alternative to the standard \(\Lambda \)CDM model. In particular, we will show that the quartic Weyl-invariant model prediction is consistent with the Hubble diagram observations.     

Modified gravity inspired DGP brane cosmology

We consider a DGP brane scenario where a scalar field is present on the brane through the introduction of a scalar potential, itself motivated by the notion of modified gravity. This theory predicts that the mass appearing in the gravitational potential is modified by the addition of the mass of the scalar field. The cosmological implications that such a scenario entails are examined and shown to be consistent with a universe expanding with power-law acceleration.     

Inflaton field governed universe from NKK theory of gravity: stochastic approach

We study a non-perturbative single field (inflaton) governed cosmological model from a 5D non-compact Kaluza-Klein (NKK) theory of gravity. The inflaton field fluctuations are estimated for different epochs of the evolution of the universe. We conclude that the inflaton field has been sliding down its (quadratic) potential hill along the whole evolution of the universe and a mass is involved of the order of the Hubble parameter. In the model here developed the only free parameter is the Hubble parameter, which could be reconstructed in the future from Super Nova Acceleration Probe (SNAP) data. Received: 17 August 2005, Revised: 12 September 2005, Published online: 14 October 2005 PACS: 04.20.Jb, 11.10.kk, 98.80.Cq     

Towards a gravity dual for the large scale structure of the universe

The dynamics of the large‐scale structure of the universe enjoys at all scales, even in the highly non‐linear regime, a Lifshitz symmetry during the matter‐dominated period. In this paper we propose a general class of six‐dimensional spacetimes which could be a gravity dual to the four‐dimensional large‐scale structure of the universe. In this set‐up, the Lifshitz symmetry manifests itself as an isometry in the bulk and our universe is a four‐dimensional brane moving in such six‐dimensional bulk. After finding the correspondence between the bulk and the brane dynamical Lifshitz exponents, we find the intriguing result that the preferred value of the dynamical Lifshitz exponent of our observed universe, at both linear and non‐linear scales, corresponds to a fixed point of the RGE flow of the dynamical Lifshitz exponent in the dual system where the symmetry is enhanced to the Schrödinger group containing a non‐relativistic conformal symmetry. We also investigate the RGE flow between fixed points of the Lifshitz dynamical exponent in the bulk and observe that this flow is reflected in a growth rate of the large‐scale structure, which seems to be in qualitative agreement with what is observed in current data. Our set‐up might provide an interesting new arena for testing the ideas of holography and gravitational duals.     

Gravitational pressure,apparent horizon and thermodynamics of FLRW universe in the teleparallel gravity

In the context of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity the concept of gravitational pressure and gravitational energy-momentum arisen in a natural way. In the case of a Friedmann–Lemaitre–Robertson–Walker space FLRW we obtain the total energy contained inside the apparent horizon and the radial pressure over the apparent horizon area. We use these definitions to written a thermodynamics relation \(T_{A}dS_{A} = dE_{A}+P_{A}dV_{A}\) at the apparent horizon, where \(E_{A}\) is the total energy inside the apparent horizon, \(V_{A}\) is the areal volume of the apparent horizon, \(P_{A}\) is the radial pressure over the apparent horizon area, \(S_{A}\) is the entropy which can be assumed as one quarter of the apparent horizon area only for a non stationary apparent horizon. We identify \(T_{A}\) as the temperature at the surface of the apparent horizon. We shown that for all expanding accelerated FLRW model of universe the radial pressure is positive.     

Modified Friedmann equations from Debye entropic gravity

A remarkable new idea on the origin of gravity was recently proposed by Verlinde who claimed that the laws of gravitation are no longer fundamental, but rather emerge naturally as an entropic force. In Verlinde derivation, the equipartition law of energy on the holographic screen plays a crucial role. However, the equipartition law of energy fails at the very low temperature. Therefore, the formalism of the entropic force should be modified while the temperature of the holographic screen is very low. Considering the Debye entropic gravity and following the strategy of Verlinde, we derive the modified Newton’s law of gravitation and the corresponding Friedmann equations which are valid in all range of temperature. In the limit of strong gravitational field, i.e. high temperature compared to Debye temperature, T » T _D , one recovers the standard Newton’s law and Friedmann equations. We also generalize our study to the entropy corrected area law and derive the dynamical cosmological equations for all range of temperature. Some limits of the obtained results are also studied.     

Effects of quantum gravity on the inflationary parameters and thermodynamics of the early universe

The effects of generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) on the inflationary dynamics and the thermodynamics of the early universe are studied. Using the GUP approach, the tensorial and scalar density fluctuations in the inflation era are evaluated and compared with the standard case. We find a good agreement with the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data. Assuming that a quantum gas of scalar particles is confined within a thin layer near the apparent horizon of the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker universe which satisfies the boundary condition, the number and entropy densities and the free energy arising form the quantum states are calculated using the GUP approach. A qualitative estimation for effects of the quantum gravity on all these thermodynamic quantities is introduced.     

Modified gravity on the brane and dark energy

We analyze the dynamics of an AdS₅ braneworld with matter fields when gravity is allowed to deviate from the Einstein form on the brane. We consider exact five-dimensional warped solutions which are associated with conformal bulk fields of weight –4 and describe on the brane the following three dynamics: those of inhomogeneous dust, of generalized dark radiation, and of homogeneous polytropic dark energy. We show that, with modified gravity on the brane, the existence of such dynamical geometries requires the presence of non-conformal matter fields confined to the brane.