Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Extended theories of gravity'

General Relativity (GR) is one theory amongst a wider range of plausible descriptions of the Universe. The aim of this thesis is to examine the behaviour of so-called screened theories, which are designed to avoid local tests of modified gravity (MG). We establish that these theories may be treated in a unified manner in the context of halo formation. A prerequisite for this is the clarification that the quasi-static approximation can be applied in cosmologically-plausible scenarios. Amongst the plethora of MG theories, we select three, each of which exhibit a different form of screening. This describes a self-concealing property whereby each theory behaves like GR in the conditions of the local Universe. Only at regions of high energy density (chameleon), large coupling to matter (symmetron) or large derivatives of the scalar field (Vainshtein) does their modified behaviour emerge. We examine f(R), symmetron and DGP gravity in the context of non-linear gravitational collapse for the remainder of the thesis. Relativistic scalar fields are ubiquitous in our modern understanding of structure formation. They arise as candidates for dark energy and are at the heart of many modified theories of gravity. While there has been tremendous progress in calculating their effects on large scales there are still open questions on how to best quantify their effects on smaller scales where non-linear collapse becomes important. In these regimes, it has become the norm to use the quasi-static approximation in which the time evolution of perturbations in the scalar fields are discarded, akin to what is done in the context of non-relativistic fields in cosmology and the corresponding Newtonian limit. We show that considerable care must be taken in this regime by studying linearly perturbed scalar field cosmologies and quantifying the error that arise from taking the quasi-static limit. We focus on f(R) and chameleon models to assess the impact of the quasi-static approximation and discuss how it might affect studying the non-linear growth of structure in N-body numerical simulations. The halo mass function (HMF) n(M) dM is the number of haloes with mass in the range [ M, M+dM ] per unit volume. It has two remarkable properties which render it a useful probe of extensions to general relativity (GR). On the one hand, it is (nearly-)universal, in the sense that it can be written in a form (f(v) which is (practically) insensitive to changes in redshift and cosmological parameters and redshift. We develop a method to generalise fitting functions derived in GR to a variety of screened MG theories, in order to examine whether they are universal in the sense of being insensitive to MG. On the other hand, the HMF is sensitive to both the expansion history of the universe and the non-linear behaviour of spherical collapse via the critical density parameter and the matter power spectrum via the halo resolution. This greatly complicates the theoretical framework required to calculate the HMF, particularly given the sensitivity of chameleon MG to the surrounding environment. We explore a variety of new and existing methods to do so. Finally we re-calibrate the MG halo mass functions with the same rigour as has been done in GR. An important indicator of modified gravity is the effect of the local environment on halo properties. This paper examines the influence of the local tidal structure on the halo mass function, the halo orientation, spin and the concentration-mass relation. We generalise the excursion set formalism to produce a halo mass function conditional on large-scale structure. Our model agrees well with simulations on large scales at which the density field is linear or weakly non-linear. Beyond this, our principal result is that f(R does affect halo abundances, the halo spin parameter and the concentration-mass relationship in an environment-independent way, whereas we find no appreciable deviation from LCDM for the mass function with fixed environment density, nor the alignment of the orientation and spin vectors of the halo to the eigenvectors of the local cosmic web. There is a general trend for greater deviation from LCDM in under-dense environments and for high-mass haloes, as expected from chameleon screening. Given the broad spectrum of MG theories, it is important to design new probes of MG. Despite the fact that we examine only three theories of MG, the techniques and methodology developed in this thesis can be applied to a wide variety of theories and can be extended to improve the results in this work.

The aim of this thesis is to study the possible astrophysical and cosmological applications of Extended Theories of Gravity. In particular, Neutron Stars are studied, both on astrophysical and cosmological scale where, at cosmological level, they can assume a macroscopic configuration, i.e. a cosmological probe, which can be represented like a Fermionic condensate. The goal is to provide answers consistent with observational evidences that are not justified by General Relativity.

2013 - 2014
In this Thesis we report a general review of Extended Theories of Gravity and the fundamental aspects of General Relativity. We show the technicality of development of field equation with respect to Newtonian, Post-Newtonian approach and the post-Minkowskian limit. We analyse also the problem of how conformally transformed models behave in the weak field limit approximation. This issue could be extremely relevant in order to select conformally invariant physical quantities. The photon deflection is considered in the framework of the Newtonian Limit of a general class of f (R, Rαβ Rαβ, RαβγδRαβγδ) - Gravity where f is an unspecific function of the Ricci scalar R, Ricci tensor squareRαβ Rαβ and Riemann tensor square RαβγδRαβγδ. Studying in the weak-field approximation - Newtonian and Post-Newtonian limit - the geodesic and Lense-Thirring processions by using the recent experimental results of the Gravity Probe B and LARES satellite and using the damping of the orbital period of coalescing stellar binary systems, we impose constraints on the free parameters of such models of Extended Theories of Gravity. [edited by author]
XIII n.s.

Einstein theory of General Relativity was well adapted and accepted until limitations in the form of an unexplained form of energy, referred today as Dark Energy, were observed. For this reason, modifications to the standard Theory of General Relativity were proposed: the so-called f(R) theories. In this dissertation, after a passage on the generalities of cosmology, we use the metric formalism technique to derive the field equations for the general f(R) function. Thereafter we analyse and check the solutions proposed in [85] for the quadratic model in f(R) gravity, for spherically symmetric and static neutron stars, using two different viable equations of state. We also check the accuracy of our code through a forward-backward integration technique, to show that in both directions, we obtain the same results. We then perform a thorough analysis in the case of f(R) = R1+ models. Results will show that for a negative value, we have non-Schwarzschild, but asymptotically flat solutions, for which we can use the backward integration technique to retrieve the solutions from the forward integration. However, for the case of positive values, we will show the existence of horizons, which deny us the possibility of using the backward integration technique. One of the aims of this thesis is to check, through the backward integration technique that we developed, whether the exact exterior solutions proposed in [86], are indeed realistic solutions for neutron stars. We will see that for some cases, we do have realistic profiles, while for some others, although solutions exist, they are rejected due to their disagreement with the equation of state used therein.

The recent observational data in cosmology seem to indicate that the universe is currently expanding in an accelerated way. This unexpected conclusion can be explained assuming the presence of a non-vanishing yet extremely fine tuned cosmological constant, or invoking the existence of an exotic source of energy, dark energy, which is not observed in laboratory experiments yet seems to dominate the energy budget of the Universe. On the other hand, it may be that these observations are just signalling the fact that Einstein's General Relativity is not the correct description of gravity when we consider distances of the order of the present horizon of the universe. In order to study if the latter explanation is correct, we have to formulate new theories of the gravitational interaction, and see if they admit cosmological solutions which fit the observational data in a satisfactory way. Quite generally, modifying General Relativity introduces new degrees of freedom, which are responsible for the different large distance behaviour. On one hand, often these new degrees of freedom have negative kinetic energy, which implies that the theory is plagued by ghost instabilities. On the other hand, for a modified gravity theory to be phenomenologically viable it is necessary that the extra degrees of freedom are efficiently screened on terrestrial and astrophysical scales. One of the known mechanisms which can screen the extra degrees of freedom is the Vainshtein mechanism, which involves derivative self-interaction terms for these degrees of freedom. In this thesis, we consider two different models, the Cascading DGP and the dRGT massive gravity, which are candidates for viable models to modify gravity at very large distances. Regarding the Cascading DGP model, we consider the minimal (6D) set-up and we perform a perturbative analysis at first order of the behaviour of the gravitational field and of the branes position around background solutions where pure tension is localized on the 4D brane. We consider a specific realization of this set-up where the 5D brane can be considered thin with respect to the 4D one. We show that the thin limit of the 4D brane inside the (already thin) 5D brane is well defined, at least for the configurations that we consider, and confirm that the gravitational field on the 4D brane is finite for a general choice of the energymomentum tensor. We also confirm that there exists a critical tension which separates background configurations which possess a ghost among the perturbation modes, and background configurations which are ghost-free. We find a value for the critical tension which is different from the value which has been obtained in the literature; we comment on the difference between these two results, and perform a numeric calculation in a particular case where the exact solution is known to support the validity of our analysis. Regarding the dRGT massive gravity, we consider the static and spherically symmetric solutions of these theories, and we investigate the effectiveness of the Vainshtein screening mechanism. We focus on the branch of solutions in which the Vainshtein mechanism can occur, and we truncate the analysis to scales below the gravitational Compton wavelength, and consider the weak field limit for the gravitational potentials, while keeping all non-linearities of the mode which is involved in the screening. We determine analytically the number and properties of local solutions which exist asymptotically on large scales, and of local (inner) solutions which exist on small scales. Moreover, we analyze in detail in which cases the solutions match in an intermediate region. We show that asymptotically flat solutions connect only to inner configurations displaying the Vainshtein mechanism, while non asymptotically flat solutions can connect both with inner solutions which display the Vainshtein mechanism, or with solutions which display a self-shielding behaviour of the gravitational field. We show furthermore that there are some regions in the parameter space of the theory where global solutions do not exist, and characterize precisely in which regions the Vainshtein mechanism takes place.

The recent observational data in cosmology seem to indicate that the universe is currently expanding in an accelerated way. This unexpected conclusion can be explained assuming the presence of a non-vanishing yet extremely fine tuned cosmological constant, or invoking the existence of an exotic source of energy, dark energy, which is not observed in laboratory experiments yet seems to dominate the energy budget of the Universe. On the other hand, it may be that these observations are just signalling the fact that Einstein's General Relativity is not the correct description of gravity when we consider distances of the order of the present horizon of the universe. In order to study if the latter explanation is correct, we have to formulate new theories of the gravitational interaction, and see if they admit cosmological solutions which fit the observational data in a satisfactory way. A necessary condition for the viability of a theory of ``modified gravity'' is that it has to reproduce to high precision the results of General Relativity in experimental setups where the latter is well tested. Quite in general, modifying General Relativity introduces new degrees of freedom, which are responsible for the different large distance behavior. For a modified gravity theory to be phenomenologically viable, it is necessary that the extra degrees of freedom are efficiently screened on terrestrial and astrophysical scales. One of the known mechanisms which can screen the extra degrees of freedom is known as the Vainshtein mechanism, which involves derivative self-interaction terms for these degrees of freedom. In this thesis, we consider a class of nonlinear massive gravity theories known as dGRT Massive Gravity. These theories are candidates as viable models to modify gravity at very large distances, and, apart from the mass, they contain two free parameters. We investigate the effectiveness of the Vainshtein screening mechanism in this class of theories. There are two branches of static and spherically symmetric solutions, and we consider only the branch in which the Vainshtein mechanism can occur. We truncate the analysis to scales below the gravitational Compton wavelength, and consider the weak f\mbox{}ield limit for the gravitational potentials, while keeping all non-linearities of the mode which is involved in the screening. We determine analytically the number and properties of local solutions which exist asymptotically on large scales, and of local (inner) solutions which exist on small scales. We analyze in detail in which cases the solutions match in an intermediate region. Asymptotically flat solutions connect only to inner configurations displaying the Vainshtein mechanism, while non asymptotically flat solutions can connect both with inner solutions which display the Vainshtein mechanism, or with solutions which display a self-shielding behaviour of the gravitational field. We show furthermore that there are some regions in the parameter space where global solutions do not exist, and characterise precisely in which regions of the phase space the Vainshtein mechanism takes place.

In this thesis massive higher derivative gravity theories are analyzed in some detail. One-particle scattering amplitude between two covariantly conserved sources mediated by a graviton exchange is found at tree-level in D dimensional (Anti)-de Sitter and flat spacetimes for the most general quadratic curvature theory augmented with the Pauli-Fierz mass term. From the amplitude expression, the Newtonian potential energies are calculated for various cases. Also, from this amplitude and the propagator structure, a three dimensional unitary theory is identified. In the second part of the thesis, the found three dimensional unitary theory is studied in more detail from a canonical point of view. The general higher order action is written in terms of gauge-invariant functions both in flat and de Sitter backgrounds. The analysis is extended by adding static sources, spinning masses and the gravitational Chern-Simons term separately to the theory in the case of flat spacetime. For all cases the microscopic spectrum and the masses are found. In the discussion of curved spacetime, the masses are found in the relativistic and non-relativistic limits. In the Appendix, some useful calculations that are frequently used in the bulk of the thesis are given.

Teleparallel gravity is an alternative formulation of gravity which has the same field equations as General Relativity (GR), therefore, it is also known as the Teleparallel equivalent of General Relativity (TEGR). This theory is a gauge theory of the translations with the torsion tensor being non-zero but with a vanishing curvature tensor, hence, the manifold is globally flat. An interesting approach for understanding the late-time accelerating behaviour of the Universe is called modified gravity where GR is extended or modified. In the same spirit, since TEGR is equivalent to GR, one can consider its modifications and study if they can describe the current cosmological observations. This thesis is devoted to studying several modified Teleparallel theories of gravity with emphasis on late-time cosmology. Those Teleparallel theories are in general different to the modified theories based on GR, but one can relate and classify them accordingly. Various Teleparallel theories are presented and studied such as Teleparallel scalar-tensor theories, quintom models, Teleparallel non-local gravity, and f(T,B) gravity and its extensions (coupled with matter, extensions of new GR and Gauss-Bonnet) where T is the scalar torsion and B is the boundary term which is related with the Ricci scalar via R=-T+B.

This thesis studies the viability of classes of modified gravity (MG) theories based on generalisations of the Einstein-Hilbert action. Particular emphasis is given to f(R) theories in both the metric and Palatini formalisms, scalar-tensor theories and generalised Gauss-Bonnet theories. An urgent task at present is to devise stringent tests in order to reduce the range of candidate models based on these theories. In this thesis a detailed study is made of the viability of these models using constraints from requirement of stability, background cosmological dynamics, local gravity constraints (LGC) and matter density perturbations. In each case the conditions required for stability and viability of the background dynamics are presented. In the case of generalised Gauss-Bonnet theories the circumstances leading to the existence and stability of cosmological scaling solutions are established. In the scalar-tensor theories considered here, which includes metric-f(R) theories as a special case, there is a strong coupling of the scalar field to matter in the Einstein frame which violates all LGC. It is shown that using a chameleon mechanism, models that are compatible with LGC may be constructed. It is found that such models, which are also consistent with background dynamics, are constrained to be close to the CDMmodel during the radiation/matter epochs and can lead to the divergence of the equation of state of dark energy. In contrast, such constraints only impose mild restrictions on Palatini-f(R) models. Still more stringent constraints are provided by studying matter density perturbations. In particular, it is shown that the unconventional evolution of perturbations in the Palatini formalism leads to f(R) models in this case to be practically identical to the CDM model. For each case it is also shown that (for viable models) matter perturbation equations derived under a sub-horizon approximation are reliable even for super-Hubble scales provided the oscillating mode does not dominate over the matter-induced mode. Such approximate equations are especially reliable in the Palatini formalism, where the oscillating mode is absent. In summary, the analyses carried out in this thesis suggest that subjectingMG theories to observational constraints confines the viable range of models to be very close to (and in some cases indistinguishable from) the CDM model.

A detailed study of the cosmological evolution in a particular vector-tensor theory of gravity with a potential and a Galileon-motivated interaction terms is presented. The evolution of vector field self interactions that are relatively related to Galileon fields throughout the expansion history of the universe is considered and a classification of the parameters M (mass term) and H (Hubble parameter) according to the behaviour of the field in each cosmological epoch is carried out. In particular, we obtain conditions for the parameters so that the field grows exponentially or oscillates with decreasing amplitude. We also obtain an autonomous system for the inflationary case. The general features of the phasemaps are given and the critical point is appropriately characterised. It is not possible to obtain an autonomous system for radiation and matter dominated epochs hence, we consider other analytical methods. We obtain eigenvalues and hence, phasemaps. The general features of the phasemaps are given and the point to which the trajectories on the phasemaps converge is appropriately characterised. Therefore, we show that it is possible to obtain a wide variety of behaviours or interesting phenomenologies for the cosmological evolution of vector field self-interactions that are relatively related to Galileon fields by choosing suitable values for the parameters M and H of given conditions.

Einstein’s equations are derived by following Jacobson’s thermodynamic method. It is seen that a family of possible field equations exist which satisfy the thermodynamic argument. Modified theories of gravity are addressed as possible candidates for replacing dark matter as an explanation for anomalous cosmological phenomena. Many of the proposed modified theories are not powerful enough to explain the currently observed phenomena and are rejected as viable theories of gravity. A surviving candidate, TeVeS, is further analyzed under the aforementioned thermodynamic argument to check for its consistency with thermodynamics.

A written report of a paper titled Holographic dual of collimated radiation by Veronika E. Hubeny where a new and easier method is proposed to estimate the “radiation due to an accelerated quark in a strongly coupled medium”. The method is able to reproduce the results from an earlier paper without the need of solving the linearized Einstein equations but by way of calculating geodesics in AdS using the AdS/CFT correspondence and the gravitational dual of the quark being a string. A quick introduction to synchrotron radiation and general relativity is given after which the AdS/CFT correspondence is introduced along with the results and method of V. Hubeny.
A bachelor thesis in theoretical physics.

A number of models of nature incorporate dimensions beyond our observed four. In this thesis we examine some examples and consequences of classical instabilities that emerge in the higher-dimensional theories of gravity which can describe their low energy phenomenology.

We first investigate a gravitational instability for black strings carrying momentum along an internal direction. We argue that this implies a new type of solution that is nonuniform along the extra dimension and find that there is a boost dependent critical dimension for which they are stable. Our analysis implies the existence of an analogous instability for the five-dimensional black ring. We construct a simple mode of the black ring to aid in applying these results and argue that such rings should exist in any number of space-time dimensions.

Next we consider a recently constructed class of nonsupersummetric solutions of type IIB supergravity which are everywhere smooth and have no horizon. We demonstrate that these solutions are all classically unstable. The instability is a generic feature of horizonless geometries with an ergoregion. We consider the endpoint of this instability and argue that the solutions decay to supersymmetric configurations. We also comment on the implications of the ergoregion instability for Mathur's 'fuzzball' proposal.

Finally, we consider an interesting braneworld cosmology in the Randall-Sundrum scenario constructed using a bulk space-time which corresponds to a charged AdS black hole. In particular, these solutions appear to 'bounce', making a smooth transition from a contracting to an expanding phase. By considering the space-time geometry more carefully, we demonstrate that generically in these solutions the brane will encounter a singularity in the transition region.

It is now a consolidated fact that our Universe is undergoing an accelerated expansion. According to Einstein's General Relativity, if the main constituents of our Universe were ordinary and cold dark matter, then we would expect it to be contracting and collapsing due to matter's attractive nature. The simplest explanation we have for this acceleration is in the form of a component with a negative ratio of pressure to density equal to -1 known as cosmological constant, Λ , presently dominating over baryonic and cold dark matter. However, the Λ Cold Dark Matter (Λ CDM) model suffers from a well known fine tuning problem. This led to the formulation of dark energy and modified gravity theories as alternatives to the problem of cosmic acceleration. These theories either include additional degrees of freedom, higher-order equations of motion, extra dimensionalities or imply non-locality. In this thesis we focus on single field scalar tensor theories embedded within Horndeski gravity. Even though there is currently doubt on their ability to explain cosmic acceleration without having a bare cosmological constant on their action, the degree of freedom they introduce mediates an additional fifth force. And while this force has to suppressed on Solar system scales, it can have interesting and observable effects on cosmological scales. Over the next decade there is a surge of surveys that will improve the understanding of our Universe on the largest scales. Hence, in this work, we take several different modified gravity theories and study their impact on cosmological observables. We will analyze the dynamics of linear perturbations on these theories and clearly highlight how they deviate from Λ CDM, allowing to break the degeneracy at the background level. We will also study the evolution of the gravitational potentials on sub horizon scales and provide simplified expressions at this regime and, for some models, obtain constraints using the latest data.

Our theoretical understanding of the dynamical evolution of the Universe has certainly improved during the recently established era of precision cosmology. However, the nature of the dark sector remains the greatest puzzle in cosmology. Although we re–establish that the concordance model of cosmology is in agreement with current cosmological observations, this simplistic model is unequivocally theoretically unappealing. Thence, we investigate a number of alternative cosmological models and illustrate their distinctive cosmological consequences. For instance, we consider a scalar–tensor theory of gravitation, such that the minimally coupled scalar field is explicitly coupled to multiple fluid components. The assumed coupling functions are specified by the theoretically well–motivated conformal and disformal coupling functions. We perform a dynamical systems analysis, in which we establish the existence and stability conditions for every fixed point, and illustrate that disformally coupled systems have a dissimilar cosmological evolution with respect to the conformally coupled and uncoupled systems. We further show that a disformal coupling between the matter and radiation sectors is characterised by a varying fine–structure constant. Moreover, a direct coupling between dark energy and dark matter is not theoretically forbidden and might be incorporated in extensions of the standard model of particle physics. We consider a coupled quintessence model, in which the dark energy scalar field only couples to dark matter via the conformal and disformal coupling functions, and is decoupled from the conventional baryonic matter sector. We scrutinise the distinctive features of this cosmological model, where we particularly show that when the dark sector constituents are disformally coupled, intermediate–scales and time–dependent damped oscillations appear in the matter growth rate function. We confront this coupled quintessence model with current cosmological data sets, and illustrate that Nature is consistent with a null coupling within the dark sector of the Universe.

Lorentz symmetry is arguably the most fundamental symmetry of physics, at least in its modern conception. On the other hand, some of the issues that plague the currently accepted theory of gravitation could be solved by breaking such symmetry. The theory proposed by Petr Horava in 2009 brings forward exactly this aspect. The theory, dubbed Horava gravity, is a UV complete theory of gravity that is also renormalisable. It represents therefore a good candidate for a quantum theory of gravity. There are some issues though, which typically arise in any theory which explicitely violates Lorentz symmetry. In this thesis we will be concerned with two of these issues, in particular the matter problem and the existence of black holes. The first issue mentioned arises every time we try to couple matter to a Lorentz violating theory of gravity. Indeed, in the matter sector Lorentz symmetry is extremely well constrained, and therefore we need to find a way to avoid the percolation of Lorentz violations to the matter sector through higher order operators. One possible solution based on the separation of scales was proposed in the last few years (Pospelov et al.,2010). While studying the proposed mechanism though, the authors uncovered a naturalness problem in the vector sector of the theory. The solutions they proposed relies on the use of some higher derivative terms that are not normally present in the ``traditional'' Horava theory. It is unclear then what impact this type of terms can have on the whole theory. In our work we precisely addressed this question. We analysed the perturbations around Minkowski of the most generic theory extended to these type of terms, both from the point of view of the stability of the theory and of the renormalisability. What we found is that the theory retains its renormalisability, but some instabilities occur in the scalar sector. More work is hence required in order to understand whether such instabilities could be tamed, or if the mixed derivatives should be abandoned in favour of some alternative solution, not presently available. The second theme we concentrated on is that of the existence of black holes. The definition of black hole in general relativity rely strongly on the causal structure dictated by Lorentz symmetry. As soon as Lorentz symmetry is broken it is therefore unclear whether black holes will still exist. Surprisingly enough black holes have been shown to exist in Lorentz breaking theories, but a rigorous definition was still to be found. In our work we developed the mathematically rigorous definitions for the causal structure of foliated spacetimes and we defined for the first time black holes in such spacetimes. We also uncovered a number of interesting properties of this objects and we developed a local characterisation that allows one to locate horizons without the knowledge of the whole structure of the complete spacetime. Finally we developed the Initial Value Problem for these types of theory in the hope that new simulations of gravitational collapse will be performed using our analysis as a starting point. The thesis is organised as follows. In the first Chapter we give an introduction on gravity and the problems with its renormalization. We also introduce some of the theories that have been proposed to solve this difficulties. In the second Chapter we start discussing Lorentz violations and we provide a proof of the power-counting renormalizability of a toy model of a Lorentz violationg scalar field theory. We also introduce the theories that we will be studying throughout the thesis. In the third Chapter we discuss the mixed derivative extension to Horava gravity and we discuss the consequences of the new terms that occur in the theory. In the fourth and fifth Chapters we introduce the causal structure of spacetimes which violate Lorentz symmetry by means of a preferred foliation, we discuss the notion of black holes and horizons and we formalise some results present in the literature adapting them to our framework. In the sixth Chapter we then discuss the Initial Value Problem for such spacetimes, with some attention to the process of gravitational collapse leading to the formation of black holes. Finally in the last Chapter we draw some conclusions and discuss some ideas for future work.

The first part of the thesis concerns the study of inflation in the context of a theory of gravity called "Induced Gravity" in which the gravitational coupling varies in time according to the dynamics of the very same scalar field (the "inflaton") driving inflation, while taking on the value measured today since the end of inflation. Through the analytical and numerical analysis of scalar and tensor cosmological perturbations we show that the model leads to consistent predictions for a broad variety of symmetry-breaking inflaton's potentials, once that a dimensionless parameter entering into the action is properly constrained. We also discuss the average expansion of the Universe after inflation (when the inflaton undergoes coherent oscillations about the minimum of its potential) and determine the effective equation of state. Finally, we analyze the resonant and perturbative decay of the inflaton during (p)reheating. The second part is devoted to the study of a proposal for a quantum theory of gravity dubbed "Horava-Lifshitz (HL) Gravity" which relies on power-counting renormalizability while explicitly breaking Lorentz invariance. We test a pair of variants of the theory ("projectable" and "non-projectable") on a cosmological background and with the inclusion of scalar field matter. By inspecting the quadratic action for the linear scalar cosmological perturbations we determine the actual number of propagating degrees of freedom and realize that the theory, being endowed with less symmetries than General Relativity, does admit an extra gravitational degree of freedom which is potentially unstable. More specifically, we conclude that in the case of projectable HL Gravity the extra mode is either a ghost or a tachyon, whereas in the case of non-projectable HL Gravity the extra mode can be made well-behaved for suitable choices of a pair of free dimensionless parameters and, moreover, turns out to decouple from the low-energy Physics.

The first part of the thesis concerns the study of inflation in the context of a theory of gravity called "Induced Gravity" in which the gravitational coupling varies in time according to the dynamics of the very same scalar field (the "inflaton") driving inflation, while taking on the value measured today since the end of inflation. Through the analytical and numerical analysis of scalar and tensor cosmological perturbations we show that the model leads to consistent predictions for a broad variety of symmetry-breaking inflaton's potentials, once that a dimensionless parameter entering into the action is properly constrained. We also discuss the average expansion of the Universe after inflation (when the inflaton undergoes coherent oscillations about the minimum of its potential) and determine the effective equation of state. Finally, we analyze the resonant and perturbative decay of the inflaton during (p)reheating. The second part is devoted to the study of a proposal for a quantum theory of gravity dubbed "Horava-Lifshitz (HL) Gravity" which relies on power-counting renormalizability while explicitly breaking Lorentz invariance. We test a pair of variants of the theory ("projectable" and "non-projectable") on a cosmological background and with the inclusion of scalar field matter. By inspecting the quadratic action for the linear scalar cosmological perturbations we determine the actual number of propagating degrees of freedom and realize that the theory, being endowed with less symmetries than General Relativity, does admit an extra gravitational degree of freedom which is potentially unstable. More specifically, we conclude that in the case of projectable HL Gravity the extra mode is either a ghost or a tachyon, whereas in the case of non-projectable HL Gravity the extra mode can be made well-behaved for suitable choices of a pair of free dimensionless parameters and, moreover, turns out to decouple from the low-energy Physics.

The aim of this work is to investigate the both, some mathematical and physical general aspect of modified gravity, and, more specifically, the proprieties of viable, realistic models of modified gravity which can be used to reproduce the inflation and the dark energy epoch of universe today.

Double field theory and exceptional field theory are formulations of supergravity that make certain dualities manifest symmetries of the action. To achieve this, the geometry is extended by including dual coordinates corresponding to winding modes of the fundamental objects. This geometrically unifies the spacetime metric and the gauge fields (and their local symmetries) in a generalized geometry. Solutions to these extended field theories take the simple form of waves and monopoles in the extended space. From a supergravity point of view they appear as 1/2 BPS objects such as the string, the membrane and the fivebrane in ordinary spacetime. In this thesis double field theory and exceptional field theory are introduced, solutions to their equations of motion are constructed and their properties are analyzed. Further it is established how isometries in the extended space give rise to duality relations between the supergravity solutions. Extensions to these core ideas include studying Goldstone modes, probing singularities at the core of solutions and localizing them in winding space. The relation of exceptional field theory to F-theory is also covered providing an action for the latter and incorporating the duality between M-theory and F-theory.

La position centrale occupée par les Théories Quantiques des Champs Topologiques (TQFTs) dans l’étude de la topologie en basse dimension est due à leur structure extraordinairement riche, qui permet différentes interactions et applications à des questions de nature géométrique. Depuis leur première apparition, un grand effort a été mis dans l’extension des invariants quantiques de 3-variétés en TQFTs et en TQFT Étendues (ETQFTs). Cette thèse s’attaque à ce problème dans deux cadres généraux différents. Le premier est l’étude des invariants quantiques semi-simples de Witten, Reshetikhin et Turaev issus de catégories modulaires. Bien que les ETQFTs correspondantes étaient connues depuis un certain temps, une réalisation explicite basée sur la construction universelle de Blanchet, Habegger, Masbaum et Vogel apparaît ici pour la première fois. L’objectif est de tracer la route à suivre dans la deuxième partie de la thèse, où la même procédure est appliquée à une nouvelle famille d’invariants quantiques non semi-simples due à Costantino, Geer et Patureau. Ces invariants avaient déjà été étendus en TQFTs graduées par Blanchet, Costantino, Geer and Patureau, mais seulement pour une famille explicite d’exemples. Nous posons la première pierre en introduisant la définition de catégorie modulaire relative, un analogue non semi-simple aux catégories modulaires. Ensuite, nous affinons la construction universelle pour obtenir des ETQFTs graduées étendant à la fois les invariants quantiques de Costantino, Geer et Patureau et les TQFTs graduées de Blanchet, Costantino, Geer et Patureau dans ce cadre général
The central position held by Topological Quantum Field Theories (TQFTs) in the study of low dimensional topology is due to their extraordinarily rich structure, which allows for various interactions with and applications to questions of geometric nature. Ever since their first appearance, a great effort has been put into extending quantum invariants of 3-dimensional manifolds to TQFTs and Extended TQFTs (ETQFTs). This thesis tackles this problem in two different general frameworks. The first one is the study of the semisimple quantum invariants of Witten, Reshetikhin and Turaev issued from modular categories. Although the corresponding ETQFTs were known to exist for a while, an explicit realization based on the universal construction of Blanchet, Habegger, Masbaum and Vogel appears here for the first time. The aim is to set a golden standard for the second part of the thesis, where the same procedure is applied to a new family of non-semisimple quantum invariants due to Costantino, Geer and Patureau. These invariants had been previously extended to graded TQFTs by Blanchet, Costantino, Geer an Patureau, but only for an explicit family of examples. We lay the first stone by introducing the definition of relative modular category, a non-semisimple analogue to modular categories. Then, we refine the universal construction to obtain graded ETQFTs extending both the quantum invariants of Costantino, Geer and Patureau and the graded TQFTs of Blanchet, Costantino, Geer and Patureau in this general setting

In this thesis a set of recently proposed multigravity theories is analysed. In the special case of bimetric gravity, the theory has been conclusively shown to be ghost-free. On the other hand, for multigravity theories in general, the ghost-issue has not been settled conclusively. Motivated by this fact, the main object of this thesis is to clarify what has been proven so far and what issues that still needs to be addressed. We also provide new calculations and results pointing in the direction that the multigravity theories must be restricted to a set of bimetric Hassan-Rosen couplings in a tree-type structure in order to be consistent. In particular, we prove that for a multivielbein theory of  interacting vielbeins, the Lorentz equations of motion is a set of  Deser-van Nieuwenhuizen conditions if and only if the theory consists of bimetric Hassan-Rosen couplings in a tree-type structure.

Matter-wave interferometry is ideal for detecting small forces, being able to sense changes of acceleration as small as 1 nm s^-2 as a result of quantum interference. In this thesis, I prepare a cloud of ultracold Rb-87 atoms and measure the force between an atom and a cm-sized source mass using atom interferometry. The interferometer uses a sequence of optical Raman pulses to split, reflect, and recombine the atomic wavefunction. The force that is measured is consistent with standard Newtonian gravity. Some theories that have been advanced to explain the accelerating expansion of the universe - otherwise known as dark energy - predict a departure from the Newtonian force in my experiment. I use my result to constrain the parameters of these theories. The sensitivity of the experiment is sufficient to probe physics at energies approaching the Planck scale.

We study the correspondence between certain supersymmetric gauge theories and their dual supergravity descriptions. Using low-energy brane probes of the super-gravity geometries we find moduli spaces of vacua, as expected from considering the dual gauge theories. The metrics on these spaces can be put into a form consistent with field theory expectations. This provides a non-trivial check on the supergravity solutions, in addition to strong-coupling predictions for the gauge theories. In the case of N = 2 supersymmetric gauge theory, proposed supergravity duals have previously been shown, using brane probe techniques, to display the 'enhangon mechanism'. In particular, the supergravity geometries correctly reproduce the per-turbative behaviour of the gauge theory. We calculate exact non-perturbative results at low-energies using the method of Seiberg & Witten. These correctly reproduce the perturbative results in the supergravity limit, but also make predictions for when the supergravity approximation is not valid. Finally, we study the Penrose limit of a geometry that is dual to a known N= 1 superconformal gauge theory. The resulting spacetime is a new plane-wave solution with constant three-form fluxes. We quantize type IIB superstrings on this background using the Green-Schwarz formalism. We find the spectrum of string excitations and discover that it is particularly simple, due to the specific form of the plane-wave background. Using the gauge theory/gravity duality, we make predictions (beyond the supergravity approximation) for gauge theory quantities in the corresponding limit.

Dans cette thèse, nous étudions deux aspects de la théorie de la gravitation : la correspondance holographique et les théories de la gravité modifiée. La correspondance holographique est une conjecture remarquable qui établit l'équivalence entre certaines théories de la gravitation et certaines théories quantiques des champs. Les recherches dans le domaine de la gravité modifiée portent sur le développement des théories cohérentes de la gravité qui diffèrent de la relativité générale d'Einstein. La première partie de la thèse est dédiée à la correspondance holographique, ou la dualité gauge/gravité. Nous présentons un nouveau formalisme pour étudier les théories d'Einstein- scalaires du point de vue de l'holographie. Nous appliquons ce formalisme à la théorie holographique duale à une théorie de Yang- Mills à quatre dimensions. Nous calculons holographiquement l'action efficace pour le condensat de gluons, ainsi que pour la version de cet operateur qui est invariant sous le groupe de renormalisation. La deuxième partie de cette thèse traite les théories de la gravité modifiée. Nous nous concentrons sur une limite intéressante de la gravité massive autour de l'espace de Sitter. La théorie est connue comme gravité partiellement massless. Nous abordons la question s'il existe une extension non-linéaire de la gravité partiellement massless
In this thesis, we will investigate two aspects of gravitational theories: holographic correspondence and modified gravity theories. Holographic correspondence is a remarkable conjecture which establishes the equivalence between certain gravitational theories and certain quantum field theories. The research in the domain of modified gravity concerns the development of consistent theories of gravity that are different from the standard general relativity. The first part of this thesis is dedicated to the holographic correspondence or the gauge/gravity duality. We will present a novel formalism to study the Einstein-scalar theories from the perspective of holography. We will apply this novel formalism to holographic Yang-Mills theory. We will compute the effective action for the gluon condensate and its relative that is renormalization-roup invariant. The second part of this thesis is about modified theories of gravity. We will focus on an interesting limit of massive gravity around de Sitter space. The theory is known as partially massless gravity. We will investigate whether a non-linear extension for partially massless gravity exists

Nous étudions dans un premier temps deux théories supersymétriques basées sur la présence de Gauginos de Dirac à travers deux scénarios à la phénoménologie bien distincte. La première, dite de "Fake Split SUSY", se caractérise par un spectre de particules scindé entre une partie à l'échelle électrofaible et l'autre plus lourde. Ces modèles prédisent avec une grande précision la masse du boson de Higgs et sont compatibles avec de nombreux résultats de cosmologie, au prix d'un spectre très peu naturel. La seconde présente un scénario supersymétrique dont l'un des bosons scalaire pourrait être identifié avec la résonance à 750 GeV observée au LHC. Dans un second temps, nous analysons deux comportements non-conventionnels du graviton et de son partenaire supersymétrique, le gravitino. Lorsque la symétrie de Lorentz est brisée par la présence d'un fluide, nous montrons que la pseudo-particule générée par cette brisure, le phonino, devient la composante longitudinale du gravitino et se propage suivant une relation de dispersion non relativiste que nous étudions en détails. Finalement, nous explorons des théories de gravité étendue dans lesquelles, en sus du Lagrangien d'Hilbert-Einstein, nous ajoutons des opérateurs construits à partir de produits de tenseurs de Riemann. En présence d'un fluide, nous prouvons qu'un graviton peut se propager "prestement", une notion reliée celle de vitesse superluminale
We will first focus on supersymmetric theories with Dirac Gaugino masses. We investigate two advantages of such models. First, the possibility to reconcile the measured Higgs mass with an arbitrary large scale of supersymmetry breaking. Second, we show how the scalar singlet present in such models is a sound candidate for a resonance explaining the 750 GeV diphoton excess observed by the LHC experiments. In a second part, we start by discussing the propagation of a massive spin 3/2 state in a fluid (for instance the gravitino when supergravity is coupled to a background fluid). We show that the degrees of freedom corresponding to different helicities travel with different velocities. We then discuss the separate issue of graviton speed in extended gravity theories where the usual Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangian is supplemented by various higher order terms constructed from Riemann tensors

In this thesis we present a modification of Yang-Mills and Gravity theories both written in terms of gauge connections. In particular gravity is presented in its pure connection formulation realizing a Diffeomorphism Invariant Gauge Theory. The modifications do not change the kinematical content of the theories, but they add an infinite set of new vertices retaining the symmetries of the original Lagrangians without introducing higher derivatives in the equations of motion. These new interactions are chiral, leaving the original Yang Mills and Gravity theories as the only parity-invariant theories in the set. In the Yang-Mills case we proved that at tree level the theory is still constructible via the so-called BCFW recursion relations. Both theories are claimed to be closed under the renormalization group. The Yang-Mills Deformations are indeed proved to be one-loop renormalizable and an explicit diagrammatic computation of the simplest deformation beta-function is given. For gravity a new formulation is introduced that could lead to a similar result at one-loop.

I investigate the free field realization (FFR) of various extended conformal field theories (ECFT's). More specifically, I first present a systematic method that allows the construction of the exponential type screening currents in terms of free fields in the case of the ECFT's with Kac-Moody algebras. This method is explicitly illustrated through the $su(n) sb{k}$ and $sp(4) sb{k}$ Kac-Moody algebras. Then, I use the FFR to unravel the embedding structure of the Verma modules of the ECFT with a $W sb3$ algebra. This embedding structure is expressed through a set of intertwining diagrams, which in turn, is used to compute the irreducible characters of the $W sb3$ algebra. Next, I construct two FFR's for the ECFT with the $su(n) sb{k}$ parafermion algebra. Finally, I sketch the FFR of the coset model $su(n) sb{k} times su(n) sb ell/su(n) sb{k+ ell},$ which is given in terms of the fields realizing the $su(n) sb{k}$ parafermion model and an extra free field with a background charge.

Static, spherically symmetric solutions of the Einstein-Maxwell equations in the presence of a cosmological constant are studied, and new classes of solutions are derived. Namely the charged Einstein static universe and the interior and exterior charged Nariai spacetimes, these solutions form a subclass of the RNdS solution with distinct properties. The charged Nariai solutions are then matched at a common boundary. When constructing solutions to gravitational theories it is important that these matter distributions remain in hydrostatic equilibrium. If this equilibrium is lost, with internal gravitational forces dominating internal stresses, the solution will collapse under its gravitational field. An upper bound on the mass-radius ratio Mg/R for charged solutions in de Sitter space is derived, this bound implies hydrostatic equilibrium. The result is achieved by assuming the radial pressure p≥0 and energy density ρ≥0, plus p+2p⊥≤ρ where the tangential pressure p⊥≠ p. The bound provides a generalisation of Buchdahl's inequality, 2M/R ≤8/9, valid for Schwarzschild's solution. In the limit Q→0, Λ→0, the bound reduces to Buchdahl's inequality. Solutions in hydrostatic equilibrium are also considered in modified f(T) gravity. It is shown that the tetrads eⁱμ impact the structure of the field equations, and certain tetrads impose unnecessary constraints. Two particular tetrads are studied in more detail, solutions are then found for both tetrads, and a conservation equation is obtained using an analogous method to obtaining the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation. Although both tetrad fields locally give rise to the spherically symmetric metric, the tetrad fields are not globally well-defined and hence cannot be described as spherically symmetric. We then derive an upper bound on M/R which also implies hydrostatic equilibrium, this yields some constraints on the form of f(T) given a particular tetrad that locally gives rise to the line element ds²=exp(a)dt²-exp(b)dr²-r²dΩ².

Includes abstract.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-140).
In this thesis we study extended theories of gravity in the context of cosmology. The first part is dedicated to the application of the theory of dynamical systems, which allow us to investigate the global dynamics of some cosmological models resulting from scalar-tensor and higher-order theories of gravity. We use the dynamical systems approach with non–compact expansion normalised variables to study the isotropisation of Bianchi type I models in Rn–gravity. We find that these type of models can isotropise faster or slower than their general relativity counterparts. We extend this analysis to the full class of orthogonal spatially homogeneous Bianchi models to study the effect of spatial curvature on the isotropisation of these models. A compact state space is constructed by dividing the state space into different sectors, that allows us to also investigate static solutions and bouncing or recollapsing behaviours which is not possible when using non-compact expansion normalised variables. We find no Einstein static solutions, but there do exist cosmologies with bounce behaviours. We also find that all isotropic points are flat Friedmann like. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of compactifying the state space, and illustrate this using two examples. We next study the phase-space of Friedmann models derived from scalar-tensor gravity where the non-minimal coupling is F(φ) = ξφ2 and the self-interaction potential is V (φ) = λφn. Transient almost-Friedmann phases evolving towards accelerated expansion and unstable inflationary phases evolving towards stable ones are found. In the last part of this work, we set out a framework to analyse tensor anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background of scalar-tensor cosmologies. As an example, we consider one of the exact solutions found for the class of scalar-tensor theories considered above.

Dans le cadre de la dualité holographique entre une vaste famille de vides 1/2-maximalement supersymétriques Anti-de Sitter à quatre dimensions (AdS₄) et des théories des champs superconformes N=4 supersymétriques à trois dimensions (sCFT₃), nous étudions des questions théoriques majeures de gravité quantique et de théories de jauge. Ce travail a deux directions principales : La premiere partie est consacrée aux mécanismes par lesquels le graviton AdS₄ peut acquérir une petite masse, tandis que la seconde partie concerne la cartographie de la variété superconforme des sCFT₃ considérées. En ce qui concerne la question du mecanisme de Higgs pour le graviton d’AdS₄, nous proposons un nouveau mécanisme qui repose sur le couplage ”faible” de deux sCFT₃s, initialement découplées, en jaugent une symmétrie globale commune. Les deux tenseurs de stress initialement conservés se mélangent et le résultat est une combinaison conservée et une combinaison orthogonale, dont la dimension acquiert une petite dimension anormale. Holographiquement, cette configuration correspond à la connexion de deux univers AdS₄ initialement découplés via un AdS₅ × S⁵ fin, autrement appelé une “gorge” de Janus. Le résultat est une théorie AdS₄-bimétrique, avec un graviton sans masse et un graviton massif, dont la petite masse correspond à la dimension anormale de la combinaison duale de tenseurs de stress. Nous calculons la masse du graviton, qui est exprimée en termes de données géométriques de la ”gorge” de Janus et de l’univers AdS₄ vers zéro, résulte en une théorie de gravité massive dans AdS₄. En ce qui concerne la deuxième direction de ce travail, les déformations superconformes des sCFT₃s considérées qui génèrent la variété superconformale sont des déformations préservant N = 2 supersymétrie, générées par des opérateurs exactement marginaux. Nous présentons comment tous ces opérateurs peuvent être systématiquement extraits de l’index superconforme. Les opérateurs de branche de Coulomb et de Higgs sont pris en compte, tandis qu’une attention particuli ère est accordée aux opérateurs mixtes. On montre que les modules de branches mixtes de ces théories sont des opérateurs à double-corde qui se transforment dans la représentation (Adj, Adj) des groupes de saveursélectriques et magnétiques, modulo un surcomptage pour les quivers avec des noeuds de jauge abéliens. Enfin, nous commentons sur l’interprétation holographique des résultats, en affirmant que les supergravités mesurées peuvent capturer l’espace des modules tout entier si, outre les paramètres de la solution d’arri ère-plan, les modules de quantification des conditions aux limites sontégalement pris en compte
Based on the holographic duality between a large class of half-maximally supersymmetric four-dimensional Anti-de Sitter (AdS₄) vacua and three-dimensional N = 4 superconformal field theories (sCFT₃), we study quantum gravitational and gauge theoretic questions. This work has two main directions: The first part is devoted to the mechanisms through which the low-lying AdS₄-graviton can acquire a small mass whereas the second part regards the mapping of the superconformal manifold of the considered sCFT₃s. Regarding the question of the graviton Higgsing in AdS₄, we propose a new mechanism which relies on ”weakly” coupling two initially decoupled sCFT₃s, by gauging a common global symmetry. The two initially conserved stress tensors mix and the result of this mixing is a conserved combination and an orthogonal combination, the scaling dimension of which acquires a small anomalous dimension. Holographically, this setup is dual to connecting two initially decoupled AdS₄ universes via a thin AdS₅ × S⁵ or Janus ”throat”. The result is an AdS₄- bimetric theory, with one massless and one massive graviton, the small mass of which corresponds to the anomalous dimension of the dual stress tensor combination. We compute the mass of the graviton, which is expressed in terms of the geometric data of the Janus ”throat” and of the considered AdS₄ universe. A special decoupling limit of this theory, where the effective four-dimensional gravitational coupling of one of the two universes vanishes, results to an AdS₄-Massive gravity theory. Regarding the second direction of this work, superconformal deformations of the considered sCFT3s which generate the superconformal manifold, are N = 2 supersymmetry preserving deformations, generated by exactly marginal operators. We present how all these operators can be consistently extracted from the superconformal index. Coulomb and Higgs branch operators are considered, while particular attention is payed to mixedbranch operators. It is shown that the mixed-branch moduli of these theories are double-string operators transforming in the (Adj,Adj) representation of the electric and magnetic flavour groups, up to overcounting for quivers with abelian gauge nodes. Finally, we comment on the holographic interpretation of the results, arguing that gauged supergravities can capture the entire moduli space if, in addition to the parameters of the background solution, quantization moduli of boundary conditions are also taken into account

This thesis attempts to test several frameworks of non-Newtonian gravity in the context of galaxies and galaxy clusters. The theory most extensively discussed was that of Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) with Galileon gravity, Emergent Gravity (EG) and Modified Gravity (MOG) mentioned to a lesser extent. Specifically, the main focus of this thesis was to determine whether MOND and MOND-like theories were compatible with galaxy cluster data, without the need to include cold dark matter. To do this, the paradigms of Extended MOND (EMOND), Generalised MOND (GMOND) and superfluid dark matter were investigated. The theories were outlined and applied to galaxy cluster data. The main findings of this were that EMOND and GMOND had some success with explaining galaxy cluster mass profiles, without requiring an additional dark matter component. The superfluid paradigm also enjoyed some success in galaxy clusters, which was expected as it behaves in a similar manner to the standard cold dark matter paradigm in cluster environments. However, the superfluid paradigm may have issues in the very centre of galaxy clusters due to the theory predicting constant density cores, whereas the cold dark matter paradigm predicts density cores which are cuspier. The EMOND paradigm was also tested against ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDGs) data as they appear in cluster environments, where EMOND becomes important. It was found that EMOND can reproduce the inferred mass of the UDGs, assuming they lie on the fundamental manifold (FM). The validity of the assumptions used to model the UDGs are discussed in the text. A two-body problem was also conducted in the Galileon gravity framework. The amount of additional gravitational force, compared to Newtonian was determined for a small galaxy at the edge of a galaxy cluster.

This thesis presents a comprehensive study of incidence calculus, a probabilistic logic for reasoning under uncertainty which extends two-value propositional logic to a multiple-value logic. There are three main contributions in this thesis. First of all, the original incidence calculus is extended considerably in three aspects: (a) the original incidence calculus is generalised; (b) an efficient algorithm for incidence assignment based on generalised incidence calculus is developed; (c) a combination rule is proposed for the combination of both independent and some dependent pieces of evidence. Extended incidence calculus has the advantages of representing information flexibly and combining multiple sources of evidence. Secondly, a comprehensive comparison between extended incidence calculus and the Dempster-Shafer (DS) theory of evidence is provided. It is proved that extended incidence calculus is equivalent to DS theory in representing evidence and combining independent evidence but superior to DS theory in combining dependent evidence. Thirdly, the relations between extended incidence calculus and the assumption-based truth maintenance systems are discussed. It is proved that extended incidence calculus is equivalent to the ATMS in calculating labels for nodes. Extended incidence calculus can also be used as a basis for constructing probabilistic ATMSs. The study in this thesis reveals that extended incidence calculus can be regarded as a bridge between numerical and symbolic reasoning mechanisms.

This thesis concerns a range of aspects of theoretical physics. It is composed of two parts. In the first part we motivate our line of research, and introduce and discuss the relevant concepts. In the second part, four research papers are collected. The first paper deals with a possible extension of general relativity, namely the recently discovered classically consistent bimetric theory. In this paper we study the behavior of perturbations of the metric(s) around cosmologically viable background solutions. In the second paper, we explore possibilities for particle physics with low-scale supersymmetry. In particular we consider the addition of supersymmetric higher-dimensional operators to the minimal supersymmetric standard model, and study collider phenomenology in this class of models. The third paper deals with a possible extension of the notion of Lie algebras within category theory. Considering Lie algebras as objects in additive symmetric ribbon categories we define the proper Killing form morphism and explore its role towards a structure theory of Lie algebras in this setting. Finally, the last paper is concerned with the computation of string amplitudes in four dimensional models with reduced supersymmetry. In particular, we develop general techniques to compute amplitudes involving gauge bosons and gravitons and explicitly compute the corresponding three- and four-point functions. On the one hand, these results can be used to extract important pieces of the effective actions that string theory dictates, on the other they can be used as a tool to compute the corresponding field theory amplitudes.
Over the last twenty years there have been spectacular observations and experimental achievements in fundamental physics. Nevertheless all the physical phenomena observed so far can still be explained in terms of two old models, namely the Standard Model of particle physics and the ΛCDM cosmological model. These models are based on profoundly different theories, quantum field theory and the general theory of relativity. There are many reasons to believe that the SM and the ΛCDM are effective models, that is they are valid at the energy scales probed so far but need to be extended and generalized to account of phenomena at higher energies. There are several proposals to extend these models and one promising theory that unifies all the fundamental interactions of nature: string theory. With the research documented in this thesis we contribute with four tiny drops to the filling of the fundamental physics research pot. When the pot will be saturated, the next fundamental discovery will take place.

En esta memoria de tesis se expone el trabajo llevado a cabo por el doctorando durante los últimos cuatro años, el cual versa principalmente sobre diversos aspectos de soluciones cosmológicas obtenidas a partir de teorías de gravedad modificada. Para entender el origen y la importancia de las teorías de gravedad modificada es necesario comentar antes algunos hechos acontecidos durante el siglo XX en el marco de la cosmología. La cosmología como ciencia nació gracias a la Teoría de la Relatividad General de Albert Einstein. Antes de ésta, el espacio no era más que el lugar en el que las estrellas y los planetas residían y el tiempo no era más que algo que iba pasando, siendo espacio y tiempo dos cosas completamente desconectadas y que no se veían afectadas por lo acontecido en el Universo. Sin embargo, la teoría de Einstein derrumbó estas ideas, proponiendo que espacio y tiempo están ligados entre sí y que, además, no son meros espectadores de lo que sucede en el Universo, sino que se ven afectados por su contenido. Fue de esta manera como surgió el concepto de espacio-tiempo, el cual, según Einstein, se curva debido a la presencia de materia y/o energía (ya unificadas en su teoría de la relatividad especial). Las ecuaciones de campo de Einstein son las ecuaciones que permiten a la cosmología ser considerada como una ciencia, y establecen un diálogo entre la forma del Universo y el contenido de materia y energía que en él hay. Las primeras soluciones cosmológicas que se dieron para el Universo eran estáticas, sin embargo éstas se desecharon cuando se verificó que la ley de expansión propuesta por Hubble era cierta. La teoría más aceptada hoy en día para describir el Universo es la Teoría del Big Bang, que predice un universo en expansión que habría empezado tras una gran explosión. Entre los logros de esta teoría se encuentran el estar de acuerdo con la ley de Hubble, haber podido predecir el fondo de radiación cósmica de microondas o el ser capaz de explicar la abundancia relativa de elementos primordiales. Sin embargo, este modelo no se encuentra exento de problemas, ya que hay ciertos aspectos que la teoría no es capaz de explicar, entre ellos se encuentran el problema de la bariogénesis (explicar el proceso que produce la asimetría encontrada entre bariones y antibariones) o los problemas de la planitud y del horizonte. Si bien es cierto que alguno de estos problemas pueden ser subsanados completando la teoría del Big Bang con otras como el modelo inflacionario, se ha demostrado que estos parches también presentan sus propios problemas. Aún así, la teoría del Big Bang está considerada como la mejor descripción que tenemos del Universo. A pesar de los pequeños o grandes problemas que aún quedaban por resolver, parecía que la cosmología estaba destinada a vivir de manera más o menos plácida. Pero esta aparente calma se vio truncada cuando, a finales del siglo XX, dos grupos liderados por Saul Perlmutter y por Adam Riess y Brian Schmidt, respectivamente, descubrieron, a partir de observaciones de supernovas de tipo Ia, que el Universo se encuentra en una fase de expansión acelerada. Esto contrasta con la visión que aporta la teoría del Big Bang, ya que según este modelo el Universo habría surgido de una gran explosión, fruto de la cual se estaría expandiendo; sin embargo, debido a la atracción gravitatoria de la masa contenida en el Universo, dicha expansión debería ir frenándose. Además, el grupo de Perlmutter determinó que, para poder explicar este hecho en el seno de la teoría del Big Bang, asumiendo un Universo espacialmente plano, la materia ordinaria y la materia oscura aportarían un 28% del total del contenido del Universo, mientras que el 72% restante debería atribuirse a un tipo de energía exótica denominada energía oscura y que ejercería una fuerza repulsiva. El descubrimiento de la expansión acelerada del Universo fue el origen del surgimiento de un gran número de teorías cuyo objetivo era darle una explicación. La más aceptada actualmente es la teoría ¿-Cold-Dark-Matter (¿CDM) la cual propone que la energía oscura no es más que una constante cosmológica que daría cuenta de la energía de vacío del Universo. Otras teorías muy populares entre los cosmólogos para dar una explicación a la energía oscura son las teorías escalar-tensor, en las cuales la aceleración se consigue mediante la introducción de un campo escalar en el lagrangiano de la teoría, de manera similar a como el inflatón consigue la aceleración en el periodo de inflación. Básicamente, las teorías comentadas hasta ahora se basan en la introducción de algún tipo de materia o energía exótica en las ecuaciones de campo de Einstein para conseguir la aceleración deseada en el Universo. Sin embargo, ésta no es la única forma de conseguir el resultado deseado. Otra manera es suponer que las ecuaciones de Einstein son válidas hasta un cierto límite, pero han de ser modificadas más allá de este. De esta forma la aceleración en la expansión no estaría causada por un tipo de materia/energía exótica, sino que sería consecuencia de las nuevas ecuaciones. A este tipo de teorías es a las que se conoce como teorías de gravedad modificada. Entre los modelos que proponen modificar las ecuaciones de Einstein, para intentar dar una explicación a la actual aceleración en la expansión del Universo, se encuentran las teorías de gravedad modificada f(R). Estas teorías se basan en la sustitución de la curvatura escalar, R, en la acción de Einstein-Hilbert por una función genérica de la misma, f(R). Esta modificación, que a priori puede no parecer especialmente traumática, se traduce finalmente en que las ecuaciones de campo derivadas de la nueva acción sean ecuaciones diferenciales no lineales de cuarto orden, en lugar de ser de segundo orden como es el caso de las ecuaciones de campo de Einstein. Una parte muy importante, si bien no es la única, de los esfuerzos realizados para llevar a cabo este trabajo de tesis se basa en el estudio de diversos aspectos de diferentes teorías de gravedad modificada f(R). Uno de los bloques fundamentales de la memoria de la tesis es aquél dedicado a la reconstrucción de soluciones cosmológicas a partir de diferentes teorías gravitatorias. El objetivo es determinar si es posible encontrar una acción que sea capaz de reproducir una cosmología, dada por su factor de escala o su función de Hubble, y, en caso afirmativo, determinar la forma de dicha acción. Esta labor se ha llevado a cabo para teorías de gravedad modificada f(R) mediante el uso de dos esquemas de reconstrucción distintos, uno basado en el uso de un campo escalar y otro en el uso de las ecuaciones de campo obtenidas a partir de la acción de la teoría f(R). En el capítulo 2 se presentarán estos esquemas de reconstrucción y se analizarán los resultados obtenidos mediante el uso de ambos para una misma cosmología dada. Posteriormente, en el capítulo 3, se extenderá el uso de estos programas de reconstrucción a modelos cosmológicos acoplados de manera mínima a campos de Yang-Mills, estudiando de nuevo lo que ocurre con las soluciones obtenidas a partir de ambos métodos para una misma cosmología. Además, se llevará a cabo el desarrollo de un programa de reconstrucción para teorías de Yang-Mills acopladas de manera no-mínima a gravedad. Para terminar con el bloque dedicado a la reconstrucción de soluciones cosmológicas, se estudiará el caso de universos cíclicos en el seno de teorías de gravedad de Horava¿Lifshitz modificada. La gravedad de Horava-Lifshitz es una teoría renormalizable, propuesta por Horava, basada en la introducción de una anisotropía entre las cordenadas espaciales y la temporal, con la cual se rompe la invariancia bajo difeomorfismos de la Relatividad General. En el capítulo 4, se hará uso de los métodos de reconstrucción estudiados anteriormente para reconstruir un universo cíclico en el seno de teorías de gravedad de Horava¿Lifshitz modificada, dichas teorías se obtienen mediante una generalización del modelo de Horava-Lifshitz, de manera similar a como se obtienen las teorías f(R) a partir de la acción de Einstein-Hilbert. El estudio de la historia cósmica, y del crecimiento de las perturbaciones de densidad de materia, para diversos modelos f(R) viables constituye otra de las partes fundamentales de esta memoria de tesis. Debido a la arbitrariedad de la función f(R), existen infinitas teorías de este tipo, tantas como funciones que se puedan proponer; sin embargo, no todas ellas son viables, para ello han de cumplir con una serie de condiciones, como pueden ser pasar los tests de Sistema Solar y tener un acoplo gravitacional efectivo positivo. En el capítulo 5 se hará un estudio de la historia cósmica para dos modelos viables. Se analizarán numéricamente las oscilaciones de alta frecuencia de energía oscura producidas durante la época de dominación de materia, las cuales pueden producir algunas divergencias. Es por ello que se propondrán unos términos correctivos para los modelos que ayudarán a estabilizar estas oscilaciones sin hacer perder la viabilidad a los modelos. Para estas nuevas teorías se hará un estudio de la evolución que tendrían en el futuro y, además, se analizará de manera exhaustiva la historia de crecimiento de las perturbaciones de densidad de materia. Para llevar a cabo esta última tarea se determinará el índice de crecimiento para ambos modelos según tres parametrizaciones distintas. En la segunda parte del capítulo 5 se realizará un análisis de la época inflacionaria para dos modelos exponenciales. Para terminar con este bloque, en el capítulo 6, se estudiará el crecimiento de las perturbaciones de densidad de materia, de manera similar a como se hizo en el capítulo 5, para dos nuevos modelos f(R) viables. Un tercer bloque, que consta de dos capítulos, se dedica al estudio de otros aspectos importantes para las teorías gravitatorias, como es el caso del problema de la aparición de singularidades y el estudio del límite de campo débil en teorías f(R,G), siendo G el invariante de curvatura de Gauss-Bonnet. El caso de la existencia de singularidades futuras en el seno de teorías de gravedad modificada y de energía oscura es tratado en el capítulo 7, en el cual también se dará una clasificación de las mismas dependiendo de la magnitud causante de la divergencia. Si bien es cierto que, para tratar de manera rigurosa el tema de las singularidades, es necesaria una teoría cuántica de la gravedad, de la que aún hoy carecemos, también es importante intentar encontrar escenarios naturales a nivel clásico o semiclásico que sean capaces de curar la aparición de estas singularidades. En el capítulo 7 se propondrá una posible cura para este problema, la cual está basada en la adición de un término R^2 en el Lagrangiano de la teoría. Tras este análisis del problema de la aparición de singularidades en el seno de distintas teorías gravitatorias, en el capítulo 8 se afronta el estudio del límite de campo débil para las teorías de gravedad modificada f(R,G). Hasta finales del siglo XX, la Relatividad General de Einstein se había mostrado como la teoría gravitatoria más fiable, debido a la excelente concordancia entre sus predicciones y los datos observacionales que se tenían en ese momento. Sin embargo, el descubrimiento del actual estado de aceleración, en el que se ve inmersa la expansión del Universo, abrió una grieta en la teoría gravitatoria de Einstein, poniendo en duda su validez a grandes escalas y en regímenes de altas energías. Aún así, los excelentes resultados a cortas escalas, como a nivel de sistema solar, de la Relatividad General hacen que el análisis del límite de campo débil de cualquier teoría gravitatoria sea muy relevante, ya que éstas deberían ser capaces de reproducir los resultados obtenidos por la Relatividad General para pequeñas escalas. De esta manera, el estudio del límite de campo débil puede ser usado para desechar o seguir teniendo en consideranción una teoría gravitatoria. En el capítulo 8, se calcularán los límites Newtoniano, post-Newtoniano y post-post-Newtoniano de las teorías f(R,G); además, el límite Newtoniano se resolverá a partir de funciones de Green. Para finalizar con el capítulo se presentarán los límites Newtoniano, post-Newtoniano y post-post -Newtoniano para dos casos especiales, las teorías f(R) y f(G).} La memoria de la tesis finaliza con un bloque dedicado a las conclusiones generales obtenidas y a las cuestiones que quedan abiertas para un trabajo futuro.

We generalize the definition of conserved gravitational Killing charges of quadratic curvature gravity theories to arbitrary backgrounds that admit at least one global (time-like) Killing vector. This charge definition is background gauge invariant and reduces correctly to the already known limit given by [1] when the background is a space of constant curvature. As an application we use this definition to compute the charges of various black holes in New Massive Gravity
namely the BTZ black hole, the black hole given in [2] and the Lifshitz black hole. Finally we compare the charges of these black holes with the ones given in [3], which uses a different approach.

En utilisant des modèles sigma non-linéaires de fonctions d'un espace-temps D-dimensionnel à un espace symétrique G/H, nous discutons de solutions de type trou noir et membrane noire dans diverses théories de gravité supersymétriques. Un espace symétrique est une variété, riemannienne ou pseudo-riemannienne, pour laquelle le tenseur de Riemann est covariantement constant. L'utilisation du dictionnaire Kac-Moody/supergravité et les techniques de réduction dimensionnelles nous permettent de décrire des trous noirs de cohomogénéité un comme des géodésiques sur G/H. Un espace-temps M, potentiellement agrémenté d'un trou noir, est de cohomogénéité un s'il existe un groupe d'isométries Iso qui agit sur M et dont le quotient M/Iso est uni-dimensionnel. L'utilisation d'algèbres de Kac-Moody dans les théories de gravité a été développé dans l'espoir de décourvrir la symétrie sous-jacente de la théorie des cordes, aussi appelée théorie M. Les techniques de réduction dimensionnelle ont depuis longtemps été utilisées pour dévoiler les symétries cachées des théories de gravité. Dans la description du modèle sigma, les trous noirs extrémaux ou branes noires sont des géodésiques nulles et correspondent à un élément nilpotent de l'algèbre de Lie g de G. Un élément X nilpotent est caractérisé par la propriété X^n = 0. En utilisant le formalisme mathématique decrivant les orbites nilpotentes, nous classifions tous les trous noirs extrémaux dans la supergravité N=2 minimale à quatre dimensions, N=2 S^3 supergravité en quatre dimensions et la supergravité minimale en cinq dimensions. De la même manière, quand G est un sous-groupe d'un groupe Kac-Moody, très-étendu ou sur-étendu, on envoie l'orbite nilpotente minimale, en utilisant le plus haut poids de g, sur des solutions supersymétriques et non-supersymétriques de type brane dans les théories de supergravité à dix et onze dimensions. Nos résultats montrent que les symétries du groupe de Lie sont très utiles de ces solutions pour classer et trouver de nouvelles solutions de type trou noir. Afin de prouver l'unicité et plusieurs autres résultats formels, nous avons développé des méthodes préliminaires dans l'espoir qu'elles puissent être utilisées à l'avenir pour l'étude des trous noirs.
Doctorat en Sciences
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished