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A. Troisi

Publications and source records attributed to A. Troisi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Matter-antimatter asymmetry in generalized coupling theories

We explore the gravitational baryogenesis paradigm in the homogeneous and isotropic cosmology of generalized coupling gravity and, in particular, of the so-called Minimal Exponential Measure Model (MEMe). We show that, also in this theory, the time derivative of the Ricci scalar couples with matter currents and can preserve an unbalance in the baryon-antibaryon number beyond thermal equilibrium. Using the current bounds on the ratio of baryon number to entropy density, we can considerably improve the known constraints on the parameter q that characterizes the MEMe model. This estimate also allows us to draw stringent constraints on the spatial curvature of the cosmological model.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2010

Comparing scalar-tensor gravity and f(R)-gravity in the Newtonian limit

Recently, a strong debate has been pursued about the Newtonian limit (i.e. small velocity and weak field) of fourth order gravity models. According to some authors, the Newtonian limit of $f(R)$-gravity is equivalent to the one of Brans-Dicke gravity with $ω_{BD} = 0$, so that the PPN parameters of these models turn out to be ill defined. In this paper, we carefully discuss this point considering that fourth order gravity models are dynamically equivalent to the O'Hanlon Lagrangian. This is a special case of scalar-tensor gravity characterized only by self-interaction potential and that, in the Newtonian limit, this implies a non-standard behavior that cannot be compared with the usual PPN limit of General Relativity. The result turns out to be completely different from the one of Brans-Dicke theory and in particular suggests that it is misleading to consider the PPN parameters of this theory with $ω_{BD} = 0$ in order to characterize the homologous quantities of $f(R)$-gravity. Finally the solutions at Newtonian level, obtained in the Jordan frame for a $f(R)$-gravity, reinterpreted as a scalar-tensor theory, are linked to those in the Einstein frame.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2010

The post-Minkowskian limit of f(R)-gravity

We formally discuss the post-Minkowskian limit of $f(R)$-gravity without adopting conformal transformations but developing all the calculations in the original Jordan frame. It is shown that such an approach gives rise, in general, together with the standard massless graviton, to massive scalar modes whose masses are directly related to the analytic parameters of the theory. In this sense, the presence of massless gravitons only is a peculiar feature of General Relativity. This fact is never stressed enough and could have dramatic consequences in detection of gravitational waves. Finally the role of curvature stress-energy tensor of $f(R)$-gravity is discussed showing that it generalizes the so called Landau-Lifshitz tensor of General Relativity. The further degrees of freedom, giving rise to the massive modes, are directly related to the structure of such a tensor.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2009

A general solution in the Newtonian limit of f(R)- gravity

We show that any analytic $f(R)$-gravity model, in the metric approach, presents a weak field limit where the standard Newtonian potential is corrected by a Yukawa-like term. This general result has never been pointed out but often derived for some particular theories. This means that only $f(R)=R$ allows to recover the standard Newton potential while this is not the case for other relativistic theories of gravity. Some considerations on the physical consequences of such a general solution are addressed.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2008

Spherical symmetry in $f(R)$-gravity

Spherical symmetry in $f(R)$ gravity is discussed in details considering also the relations with the weak field limit. Exact solutions are obtained for constant Ricci curvature scalar and for Ricci scalar depending on the radial coordinate. In particular, we discuss how to obtain results which can be consistently compared with General Relativity giving the well known post-Newtonian and post-Minkowskian limits. Furthermore, we implement a perturbation approach to obtain solutions up to the first order starting from spherically symmetric backgrounds. Exact solutions are given for several classes of $f(R)$ theories in both $R =$ constant and $R = R(r)$.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2008

Some remarks on the dynamical systems approach to fourth order gravity

Building on earlier work, we discuss a general framework for exploring the cosmological dynamics of Higher Order Theories of Gravity. We show that once the theory of gravity has been specified, the cosmological equations can be written as a first-order autonomous system and we give several examples which illustrate the utility of our method. We also discuss a number of results which have appeared recently in the literature.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2007

The Newtonian Limit of F(R) gravity

A general analytic procedure is developed to deal with the Newtonian limit of $f(R)$ gravity. A discussion comparing the Newtonian and the post-Newtonian limit of these models is proposed in order to point out the differences between the two approaches. We calculate the post-Newtonian parameters of such theories without any redefinition of the degrees of freedom, in particular, without adopting some scalar fields and without any change from Jordan to Einstein frame. Considering the Taylor expansion of a generic $f(R)$ theory, it is possible to obtain general solutions in term of the metric coefficients up to the third order of approximation. In particular, the solution relative to the $g_{tt}$ component gives a gravitational potential always corrected with respect to the Newtonian one of the linear theory $f(R)=R$. Furthermore, we show that the Birkhoff theorem is not a general result for $f(R)$-gravity since time-dependent evolution for spherically symmetric solutions can be achieved depending on the order of perturbations. Finally, we discuss the post-Minkowskian limit and the emergence of massive gravitational wave solutions.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2007

The evolution of density perturbations in f(R) gravity

We give a rigorous and mathematically well defined presentation of the Covariant and Gauge Invariant theory of scalar perturbations of a Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker universe for Fourth Order Gravity, where the matter is described by a perfect fluid with a barotropic equation of state. The general perturbations equations are applied to a simple background solution of R^n gravity. We obtain exact solutions of the perturbations equations for scales much bigger than the Hubble radius. These solutions have a number of interesting features. In particular, we find that for all values of n there is always a growing mode for the density contrast, even if the universe undergoes an accelerated expansion. Such a behaviour does not occur in standard General Relativity, where as soon as Dark Energy dominates, the density contrast experiences an unrelenting decay. This peculiarity is sufficiently novel to warrant further investigation on fourth order gravity models.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2006

Fourth order gravity and experimental constraints on Eddington parameters

PPN-limit of higher order theories of gravity represents a still controversial matter of debate and no definitive answer has been provided, up to now, about this issue. By exploiting the analogy between scalar-tensor and fourth-order theories of gravity, one can generalize the PPN-limit formulation. By using the definition of the PPN-parameters $γ$ and $β$ in term of the $f(R)$ derivatives, we show that a family of third-order polynomial theories, in the Ricci scalar $R$, turns out to be compatible with the PPN-limit and the deviation from General Relativity theoretically predicted agree with experimental data.

gr-qc↗
arXiv2006

Structure formation and CMBR anisotropy spectrum in the inflessence model

The inflessence model has recently been proposed in an attempt to explain both early inflation and present day accelerated expansion within a single mechanism. The model has been successfully tested against the Hubble diagram of Type Ia Supernovae, the shift parameter, and the acoustic peak parameter. As a further mandatory test, we investigate here structure formation in the inflessence model determining the evolution of matter density contrast $δ\equiv δρ_M/ρ_M$ in the linear regime. We compare the growth factor $D(a) \equiv δ/a$ and the growth index $f(z) \equiv d\lnδ/d\ln{a}$ to these same quantities for the successful concordance $Λ$CDM model with a particular emphasis on the role of the inflessence parameters $(γ, z_Q)$. We also evaluate the anisotropy spectrum of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) to check whether the inflessence model may be in agreement with the observations. We find that, for large values of $(γ, z_Q)$, structure formation proceeds in a similar way to that in the $Λ$CDM scenario, and it is also possible to nicely fit the CMBR spectrum.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2006

Cosmological viability of f(R)-gravity as an ideal fluid and its compatibility with a matter dominated phase

We show that f(R)-gravity can, in general, give rise to cosmological viable models compatible with a matter-dominated epoch evolving into a late accelerated phase. We discuss the various representations of f(R)-gravity as an ideal fluid or a scalar-tensor gravity theory, taking into account conformal transformations. We point out that mathematical equivalence does not correspond, in several cases, to the physical equivalence of Jordan frame and Einstein frame. Finally, we show that wide classes of f(R)-gravity models, including matter and accelerated phases, can be phenomenologically reconstructed by means of observational data. In principle, any popular quintessence models could be "reframed" as an f(R)-gravity model.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2006

Gravitational lensing in fourth order gravity

Gravitational lensing is investigated in the weak field limit of fourth order gravity in which the Lagrangian of the gravitational field is modified by replacing the Ricci scalar curvature R with an analytical expression $f(R)$. Considering the case of a pointlike lens, we study the behaviour of the deflection angle in the case of power law Lagrangians, i.e. with f(R) = f_0 R^n. In order to investigate possible detectable signatures, the position of the Einstein ring and the solutions of the lens equation are evaluated considering the change with respect to the standard case. Effects on the amplification of the images and the Paczynski curve in microlensing experiments are also estimated.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2006

Dark energy and dark matter as curvature effects

Astrophysical observations are pointing out huge amounts of dark matter and dark energy needed to explain the observed large scale structures and cosmic accelerating expansion. Up to now, no experimental evidence has been found, at fundamental level, to explain such mysterious components. The problem could be completely reversed considering dark matter and dark energy as shortcomings of General Relativity and claiming for the correct theory of gravity as that derived by matching the largest number of observational data. As a result, accelerating behavior of cosmic fluid and rotation curves of spiral galaxies are reproduced by means of curvature effects.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2006

A fluid os strings as a viable candidate to the dark side of the universe

We investigate the possibility that part of the dark matter is not made out of the usual cold dark matter (CDM) dustlike particles, but is under the form of a fluid of strings with barotropic factor $w_s = -1/3$ of cosmic origin. To this aim, we split the dark matter density parameter in two terms and investigate the dynamics of a spatially flat universe filled with baryons, CDM, fluid of strings and dark energy, modeling this latter as a cosmological constant or a negative pressure fluid with a constant equation of state $w < 0$. To test the viability of the models and to constrain their parameters, we use the Type Ia Supernovae Hubble diagram and the data on the gas mass fraction in galaxy clusters. We also discuss the weak field limit of a model comprising a significant fraction of dark matter in the form of a fluid of strings and show that this mechanism makes it possible to reduce the need for the elusive and up to now undetected CDM. We finally find that a model comprising both a cosmological constant and a fluid of strings fits very well the data and eliminates the need of phantom dark energy thus representing a viable candidate to alleviate some of the problems plaguing the dark side of the universe.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2005

Beyond the perfect fluid hypothesis for dark energy equation of state

Abandoning the perfect fluid hypothesis, we investigate here the possibility that the dark energy equation of state (EoS) $w$ is a nonlinear function of the energy density $ρ$. To this aim, we consider four different EoS describing classical fluids near thermodynamical critical points and discuss the main features of cosmological models made out of dust matter and a dark energy term with the given EoS. Each model is tested against the data on the dimensionless coordinate distance to Type Ia Supernovae and radio galaxies, the shift and the acoustic peak parameters and the positions of the first three peaks in the anisotropy spectrum of the comic microwave background radation. We propose a possible interpretation of each model in the framework of scalar field quintessence determining the shape of the self interaction potential $V(ϕ)$ that gives rise to each one of the considered thermodynamical EoS. As a general result, we demonstrate that replacing the perfect fluid EoS with more generar expressions gives both the possibility of successfully solving the problem of cosmic acceleration escaping the resort to phantom models.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2005

PPN-limit of Fourth Order Gravity inspired by Scalar-Tensor Gravity

Based on the {\it dynamical} equivalence between higher order gravity and scalar-tensor gravity the PPN-limit of fourth order gravity is discussed. We exploit this analogy developing a fourth order gravity version of the Eddington PPN-parameters. As a result, Solar System experiments can be reconciled with higher order gravity, if physical constraints descending from experiments are fulfilled.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2005

Cosmological dynamics of R^n gravity

A detailed analysis of dynamics of cosmological models based on $R^{n}$ gravity is presented. We show that the cosmological equations can be written as a first order autonomous system and analyzed using the standard techniques of dynamical system theory. In absence of perfect fluid matter, we find exact solutions whose behavior and stability are analyzed in terms of the values of the parameter $n$. When matter is introduced, the nature of the (non-minimal) coupling between matter and higher order gravity induces restrictions on the allowed values of $n$. Selecting such intervals of values and following the same procedure used in the vacuum case, we present exact solutions and analyze their stability for a generic value of the parameter $n$. From this analysis emerges the result that for a large set of initial conditions an accelerated expansion is an attractor for the evolution of the $R^n$ cosmology. When matter is present a transient almost-Friedman phase can also be present before the transition to an accelerated expansion.

gr-qc↗