Acceleration of the Universe via f(R) Gravities and The Stability of Extra Dimensions

We extend f(R) theories via the addition of a fundamental scalar field. The approach is reminiscent of the dilaton field of string theory and the Brans-Dicke model. f(R) theories attracted much attention recently in view of their potential to explain the acceleration of the universe. Extending f(R) models to theories with scalars can be motivated from the low energy effective action of string theory. There, a fundamental scalar (the dilaton), has a non-minimal coupling to the...

The review is devoted to consideration of possible observational consequences of modified gravity theories, suggested for explanation of the contemporary accelerated expansion of the universe. The major attention is paid to F(R)-models. It is shown that in systems with rising energy density high frequency and large amplitude oscillations of the curvature scalar, R(t), are induced. These oscillations lead to the production of elementary particles, which may be observed in the ...

Introducing a fundamental constant of nature with dimensions of acceleration into the theory of gravity makes it possible to extend gravity in a very consistent manner. At the non-relativistic level a MOND-like theory with a modification in the force sector is obtained, which is the limit of a very general metric relativistic theory of gravity. Since the mass and length scales involved in the dynamics of the whole universe require small accelerations of the order of Milgrom's...

Inflation and dark energy are two of the most relevant aspects of modern cosmology. These different epochs provide the universe is passing through accelerated phases soon after the Big-Bang and at present stage of its evolution. In this review paper, we discuss that both eras can be, in principle, described by a geometric picture, under the standard of $f(R)$ gravity. We give the fundamental physics motivations and outline the main ingredients of $f(R)$ inflation, quintessenc...

We study cosmologies in modified theories of gravity considering Lagrangian density $f(R)$ which is a polynomial function of scalar curvature ($R$) in the Einstein-Hilbert action in vacuum. The field equation obtained from the modified action corresponding to a Robertson-Walker metric is highly non-linear and not simple enough to obtain analytic solution. Consequently we adopt a numerical technique to study the evolution of the FRW universe. A number of evolutionary phases ...

In present paper we propose further modification of $f(R,T)$-gravity (where $T$ is trace of energy-momentum tensor) by introducing higher derivatives matter fields. We discuss stability conditions in proposed theory and find restrictions for parameters to prevent appearance of main type of instabilities, such as ghost-like and tachyon-like instabilities. We derive cosmological equations for a few representations of theory and discuss main differences with convenient $f(R,T)$-...

We discuss the production and evolution of cosmological gravitons showing how the cosmological background affects their dynamics. Besides, the detection of cosmological gravitons could constitute an extremely important signature to discriminate among different cosmological models. Here we consider the cases of scalar-tensor gravity and $f(R)$ gravity where it is demonstrated the amplification of graviton amplitude changes if compared with General Relativity. Possible observat...

In gravity theories derived from a f(R) Lagrangian, matter is usually supposed to be minimally coupled to the metric, which hence defines a ``Jordan frame.'' However, since the field equations are fourth order, gravity possesses an extra degree of freedom on top of the standard graviton, as is manifest from its equivalent description in the conformally related, Einstein, frame. We introduce explicitly this extra scalar degree of freedom in the action and couple it to matter, ...

Teleparallel gravity is a modified theory of gravity for which the Ricci scalar $R$ of the underlying geometry in the action is replaced by an arbitrary functional form of torsion scalar $T$. In doing so, cosmology in $% f(T)$ gravity becomes greatly simplified owing to the fact that $T$ contains only the first derivatives of the vierbeins. The article exploits this appealing nature of $f(T)$ gravity and present cosmological scenarios from hybrid and logarithmic teleparallel ...

Generally making the cosmological scale factor $R$ be a function of the coordinate of the extra dimension $\sigma $ that is also a function of time $t$, we achieve a new kind of cosmic acceleration mechanism depending on extra dimension. We give the constraints on $\sigma $ under four different prospects of the universe, and indicate that dark energy is not required for both the small extra dimension and the accelerating expansion of our universe. This results in this paper s...