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Bazeia, D., Lobao, A. S., Losano, L., Menezes, R., & Olmo, G. J. (2015). Braneworld solutions for modified theories of gravity with nonconstant curvature. Phys. Rev. D, 91(12), 124006–11pp.
Abstract: We study braneworld models in the presence of scalar field in a five-dimensional geometry with a single extra dimension of infinite extent, with gravity modified to include a function of the Ricci scalar. We develop a procedure that allows us to obtain an analytical solution for the braneworld configuration in a diversity of models, in the much harder case where the Ricci scalar is a nonconstant quantity.
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Lobo, F. S. N., Olmo, G. J., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2015). Crystal clear lessons on the microstructure of spacetime and modified gravity. Phys. Rev. D, 91(12), 124001–7pp.
Abstract: We argue that a microscopic structure for spacetime such as that expected in a quantum foam scenario, in which microscopic wormholes and other topological structures should play a relevant role, might lead to an effective metric-affine geometry at larger scales. This idea is supported by the role that microscopic defects play in crystalline structures. With an explicit model, we show that wormhole formation is possible in a metric-affine scenario, where the wormhole and the matter fields play a role analogous to that of defects in crystals. Such wormholes also arise in Born-Infeld gravity, which is favored by an analogy with the estimated mass of a point defect in condensed matter systems. We also point out that in metric-affine geometries, Einstein's equations with an effective cosmological constant appear as an attractor in the vacuum limit for a vast family of theories of gravity. This illustrates how lessons from solid state physics can be useful in unveiling the properties of the microcosmos and defining new avenues for modified theories of gravity.
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Afonso, V. I., Olmo, G. J., Orazi, E., & Rubiera-Garcia, D. (2019). New scalar compact objects in Ricci-based gravity theories. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 12(12), 044–20pp.
Abstract: Taking advantage of a previously developed method, which allows to map solutions of General Relativity into a broad family of theories of gravity based on the Ricci tensor (Ricci-based gravities), we find new exact analytical scalar field solutions by mapping the free-field static, spherically symmetric solution of General Relativity (GR) into quadratic f(R) gravity and the Eddington-inspired Born-Infeld gravity. The obtained solutions have some distinctive feature below the would-be Schwarzschild radius of a configuration with the same mass, though in this case no horizon is present. The compact objects found include wormholes, compact balls, shells of energy with no interior, and a new kind of object which acts as a kind of wormhole membrane. The latter object has Euclidean topology but connects antipodal points of its surface by transferring particles and null rays across its interior in virtually zero affine time. We point out the relevance of these results regarding the existence of compact scalar field objects beyond General Relativity that may effectively act as black hole mimickers.
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Bombacigno, F., Boudet, S., Olmo, G. J., & Montani, G. (2021). Big bounce and future time singularity resolution in Bianchi I cosmologies: The projective invariant Nieh-Yan case. Phys. Rev. D, 103(12), 124031.
Abstract: We extend the notion of the Nieh-Yan invariant to generic metric-affine geometries, where both torsion and nonmetricity are taken into account. Notably, we show that the properties of projective invariance and topologicity can be independently accommodated by a suitable choice of the parameters featuring this new Nieh-Yan term. We then consider a special class of modified theories of gravity able to promote the Immirzi parameter to a dynamical scalar field coupled to the Nieh-Yan form, and we discuss in more detail the dynamics of the effective scalar tensor theory stemming from such a revised theoretical framework. We focus, in particular, on cosmological Bianchi I models and we derive classical solutions where the initial singularity is safely removed in favor of a big bounce, which is ultimately driven by the nonminimal coupling with the Immirzi field. These solutions, moreover, turn out to be characterized by finite time singularities, but we show that such critical points do not spoil the geodesic completeness and wave regularity of these spacetimes.
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Rosa, J. L., Lobo, F. S. N., & Olmo, G. J. (2021). Weak-field regime of the generalized hybrid metric-Palatini gravity. Phys. Rev. D, 104(12), 124030–11pp.
Abstract: In this work we explore the dynamics of the generalized hybrid metric-Palatini theory of gravity in the weak-field, slow-motion regime. We start by introducing the equivalent scalar-tensor representation of the theory, which contains two scalar degrees of freedom, and perform a conformal transformation to the Einstein frame. Linear perturbations of the metric in a Minkowskian background are then studied for the metric and both scalar fields. The effective Newton constant and the PPN parameter. of the theory are extracted after transforming back to the (original) Jordan frame. Two particular cases where the general method ceases to be applicable are approached separately. A comparison of these results with observational constraints is then used to impose bounds on the masses and coupling constants of the scalar fields.
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