No Arabic abstract
A modified gravitational theory explains early universe and late time cosmology, galaxy and galaxy cluster dynamics. The modified gravity (MOG) theory extends general relativity (GR) by three extra degrees of freedom: a scalar field $G$, enhancing the strength of the Newtonian gravitational constant $G_N$, a gravitational, spin 1 vector graviton field $phi_mu$, and the effective mass $mu$ of the ultralight spin 1 graviton. For $t < t_{rm rec}$, where $t_{rm rec}$ denotes the time of recombination and re-ionization, the density of the vector graviton $rho_phi > rho_b$, where $rho_b$ is the density of baryons, while for $t > t_{rm rec}$ we have $rho_b > rho_phi$. The matter density is parameterized by $Omega_M=Omega_b+Omega_phi+Omega_r$ where $Omega_r=Omega_gamma+Omega_ u$. For the cosmological parameter values obtained by the Planck Collaboration, the CMB acoustical oscillation power spectrum, polarization and lensing data can be fitted as in the $Lambda$CDM model. When the baryon density $rho_b$ dominates the late time universe, MOG explains galaxy rotation curves, the dynamics of galaxy clusters, galaxy lensing and the galaxy clusters matter power spectrum without dominant dark matter.
Following the path of minimalism in alternative theories of gravity, we construct the Minimal Theory of Bigravity (MTBG), a theory of two interacting spin-2 fields that propagates only four local degrees of freedom instead of the usual seven ones and that allows for the same homogeneous and isotropic cosmological solutions as in Hassan-Rosen bigravity (HRBG). Starting from a precursor theory that propagates six local degrees of freedom, we carefully choose additional constraints to eliminate two of them to construct the theory. Investigating the cosmology of MTBG, we find that it accommodates two different branches of homogeneous and isotropic background solutions, equivalent on-shell to the two branches that are present in HRBG. Those branches in MTBG differ however from the HRBG ones at the perturbative level, are both perfectly healthy and do not exhibit strong coupling issues nor ghost instabilities. In the so-called self-accelerating branch, characterized by the presence of an effective cosmological constant, the scalar and vector sectors are the same as in General Relativity (GR). In the so-called normal branch, the scalar sector exhibits non-trivial phenomenology, while its vector sector remains the same as in GR. In both branches, the tensor sector exhibits the usual HRBG features: an effective mass term and oscillations of the gravitons. Therefore MTBG provides a stable nonlinear completion of the cosmology in HRBG.
Gravitational wave detectors are already operating at interesting sensitivity levels, and they have an upgrade path that should result in secure detections by 2014. We review the physics of gravitational waves, how they interact with detectors (bars and interferometers), and how these detectors operate. We study the most likely sources of gravitational waves and review the data analysis methods that are used to extract their signals from detector noise. Then we consider the consequences of gravitational wave detections and observations for physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.
We investigate the cosmological applications of new gravitational scalar-tensor theories, which are novel modifications of gravity possessing 2+2 propagating degrees of freedom, arising from a Lagrangian that includes the Ricci scalar and its first and second derivatives. Extracting the field equations we obtain an effective dark energy sector that consists of both extra scalar degrees of freedom, and we determine various observables. We analyze two specific models and we obtain a cosmological behavior in agreement with observations, i.e. transition from matter to dark energy era, with the onset of cosmic acceleration. Additionally, for a particular range of the model parameters, the equation-of-state parameter of the effective dark energy sector can exhibit the phantom-divide crossing. These features reveal the capabilities of these theories, since they arise solely from the novel, higher-derivative terms.
We investigate the gravitational particle production in the bounce phase of Loop Quantum Cosmology (LQC). We perform both analytical and numerical analysis of the particle production process in a LQC scenario with Bunch-Davies vacuum initial condition in the contracting phase. We obtain that if we extend the validity of the dressed metric approach beyond the limit of small backreaction in which it is well justified, this process would lead to a radiation dominated phase in the pre-inflationary phase of LQC. Our results indicate that the test field approximation, which is required in the truncation scheme used in the dressed metric approach, might not be a valid assumption in a LQC scenario with such initial conditions.
We study the bounce and cyclicity realization in the framework of new gravitational scalar-tensor theories. In these theories the Lagrangian contains the Ricci scalar and its first and second derivatives, in a specific combination that makes them free of ghosts, and transformed into the Einstein frame they are proved to be a subclass of bi-scalar extensions of general relativity. We present analytical expressions for the bounce requirements, and we examine the necessary qualitative behavior of the involved functions that can give rise to a given scale factor. Having in mind these qualitative forms, we reverse the procedure and we construct suitable simple Lagrangian functions that can give rise to a bounce or cyclic scale factor.