arXiv subjects

Gabriel Farrugia

Publications and source records attributed to Gabriel Farrugia.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Cosmological Dynamics of a Non-Canonical Generalised Brans-Dicke Theory

The LCDM model has been presented with a number of cosmic tensions in the face of precision cosmological data, suggesting the presence of a dynamical dark energy component. In this context, we investigate the cosmology arising from a generalisation of Brans-Dicke theory, with a non-minimally coupled scalar field characterising deviations from standard general relativity, and having a non-canonical kinetic term. By reformulating the field equations into an autonomous set of dynamical equations, we use the methods of dynamical systems to investigate the equilibrium states of the system and their stability for a set of widely-used potentials, namely the constant, power-law, and exponential potentials, with the flow visualized using bounded phase portraits. Furthermore, we investigate the physical meaning of the critical points, and we find viable solutions that can reproduce the characteristics of the $Λ$CDM model at background level for each of the three potentials. Furthermore, in each case, we observe that the dynamical behaviour differs noticeably from that observed in other scalar-tensor models due to the non-minimal coupling and non-canonical field, despite using similarly defined dynamical variables.

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arXiv2024

White Dwarf Envelops and Temperature Corrections in Exponential $f(T)$ Gravity

Compact stars have long served as a test bed of gravitational models and their coupling with stellar matter. In this work, we explore the behavior of an exponential model in f(T) gravity through the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation. This is performed for different envelope thicknesses. Finally, constraints on the models parameters are obtained, which are comparable to the results obtained using cosmological survey data. This consistency across the strong astrophysical and weak cosmological scales shows reasonable viability of the underlying model.

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arXiv2024

Spatial Dependence of the Growth Factor in Scalar-Tensor Cosmology

Scalar-tensor theories have taken on a key role in attempts to confront the growing open questions in standard cosmology. It is important to understand entirely their dynamics at perturbative level including any possible spatial dependence in their growth of large scale structures. In this work, we investigate the spatial dependence of the growth rate of scalar-tensor theories through the Mészáros equation. We confirm that at subhorizon level this dependence does not play a major role for viable models. However, we establish conditions on which this criterion is met which may be important for developing new models. In our work, we consider three specific models that exhibit spatial dependence of the growth rate at subhorizon modes, which may also be important for early Universe models.

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arXiv2023

Cosmic Growth in $f(T)$ Teleparallel Gravity

Physical evolution of cosmological models can be tested by using expansion data, while growth history of these models is capable of testing dynamics of the inhomogeneous parts of energy density. The growth factor, as well as its growth index, gives a clear indication of the performance of cosmological models in the regime of structure formation of early Universe. In this work, we explore the growth index in several leading $f(T)$ cosmological models, based on a specific class of teleparallel gravity theories. These have become prominent in the literature and lead to other formulations of teleparallel gravity. Here we adopt a generalized approach by obtaining the Mészáros equation without immediately imposing the subhorizon limit, because this assumption could lead to over-simplification. This approach gives avenue to study at which $k$ modes the subhorizon limit starts to apply. We obtain numerical results for the growth factor and growth index for a variety of data set combinations for each $f(T)$ model.

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arXiv2023

Teleparallel Gravity: From Theory to Cosmology

Teleparallel gravity has significantly increased in popularity in recent decades, bringing attention to Einstein's other theory of gravity. In this Review, we relate this form of geometry to the broader metric-affine approach to forming gravitational theories where we describe a systematic way of constructing consistent teleparallel theories that respect certain physical conditions such as local Lorentz invariance. We first use teleparallel gravity to formulate a teleparallel equivalent of general relativity which is dynamically equivalent to general relativity but which may have different behaviors for other scenarios, such as quantum gravity. After setting this foundation, we describe the plethora of modified teleparallel theories of gravity that have been proposed in the literature. In the second part of the Review, we first survey works in teleparallel astrophysics literature where we focus on the open questions in this regime of physics. We then discuss the cosmological consequences for the various formulations of teleparallel gravity. We do this at background level by exploring works using various approaches ranging from dynamical systems to Noether symmetries, and more. Naturally, we then discuss perturbation theory, firstly by giving a concise approach in which this can be applied in teleparallel gravity theories and then apply it to a number of important theories in the literature. Finally, we examine works in observational and precision cosmology across the plethora of proposal theories. This is done using some of the latest observations and is used to tackle cosmological tensions which may be alleviated in teleparallel cosmology. We also introduce a number of recent works in the application of machine learning to gravity, we do this through deep learning and Gaussian processes, together with discussions about other approaches in the literature.

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arXiv2020

Cosmological bouncing solutions in f(T,B) gravity

Teleparallel Gravity offers the possibility of reformulating gravity in terms of torsion by exchanging the Levi-Civita connection with the Weitzenböck connection which describes torsion rather than curvature. Surprisingly, Teleparallel Gravity can be formulated to be equivalent to general relativity for a appropriate setup. Our interest lies in exploring an extension of this theory in which the Lagrangian takes the form of $f(T,B)$ where T and B are two scalars that characterize the equivalency with general relativity. In this work, we explore the possible of reproducing well-known cosmological bouncing scenarios in the flat Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker geometry using this approach to gravity. We study the types of gravitational Lagrangians which are capable of reconstructing analytical solutions for symmetric, oscillatory, superbounce, matter bounce, and singular bounce settings. These new cosmologically inspired models may have an effect on gravitational phenomena at other cosmological scales.

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arXiv2020

Gravitoelectromagnetism, Solar System Test and Weak-Field Solutions in $f(T,B)$ Gravity with Observational Constraints

Gravitomagnetism characterize phenomena in the weak field limit within the context of rotating systems. These are mainly manifested in the geodetic and Lense-Thirring effects. The geodetic effect describes the precession of the spin of a gyroscope in orbit about a massive static central object, while the Lense-Thirring effect expresses the analogous effect for the precession of the orbit about a rotating source. In this work, we explore these effects in the framework of Teleparallel Gravity and investigate how these effects may impact recent and future missions. We find that teleparallel theories of gravity may have an important impact on these effects which may constrain potential models within these theories.

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arXiv2019

Polarization of gravitational waves in symmetric teleparallel theories of gravity and their modifications

Symmetric teleparallel gravity (STG) offers an interesting avenue to formulate a theory of gravitation that relies neither on curvature nor torsion but only on non-metricity Q. Given the growing number of observations of gravitational waves (GWs) and their use to explore gravitational theories, in this work we investigate the GWs in various extensions of STG, focusing on their speed and polarization. For the simple STG, for theories that arise from the generalized irreducible decomposition of STG, and for f(Q) gravity, we obtain the same speed and polarizations with general relativity. For scalar - non-metricity theories, where a scalar field is nonminimally coupled to f(Q), we find that GWs propagate in general with a speed different than the one of light. Finally, for the case of f(Q,B) gravity we find that new polarizations do appear.

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arXiv2018

Gravitational Waves in Modified Teleparallel Theories

We investigate the gravitational waves and their properties in various modified teleparallel theories, such as $f(T), f(T,B)$ and $f(T,T_G)$ gravities. We perform the perturbation analysis both around a Minkowski background, as well as in the case where a cosmological constant is present, and for clarity we use both the metric and tetrad language. For $f(T)$ gravity we verify the result that no further polarization modes comparing to general relativity are present at first-order perturbation level, and we show that in order to see extra modes one should look at third-order perturbations. For non-trivial $f(T,B)$ gravity, by examining the geodesic deviation equations, we show that extra polarization models, namely the longitudinal and breathing modes, do appear at first-order perturbation level, and the reason for this behavior is the fact that although the first-order perturbation does not have any effect on $T$, it does affect the boundary term $B$. Finally, for $f(T,T_G)$ gravity we show that at first-order perturbations the gravitational waves exhibit the same behavior to those of $f(T)$ gravity. Since different modified teleparallel theories exhibit different gravitational wave properties, the dvancing gravitational-wave astronomy would help to alleviate the degeneracy not only between curvature and torsional modified gravity but also between different subclasses of modified teleparallel gravities.

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arXiv2018

Cosmological bouncing solutions in extended teleparallel gravity theories

In the context of extended Teleparallel gravity theories with a 3+1 dimensions Gauss-Bonnet analog term, we address the possibility of these theories reproducing several well-known cosmological bouncing scenarios in a four-dimensional Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker geometry. We shall study which types of gravitational Lagrangians are capable of reconstructing bouncing solutions provided by analytical expressions for symmetric, oscillatory, superbounce, the matter bounce and singular bounce. Some of the Lagrangians discovered are both analytical at the origin having Minkowski and Schwarzschild as vacuum solutions. All these results open the possibility up for such theories to be competitive candidates of extended theories of gravity in cosmological scales.

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arXiv2017

Cosmological reconstructed solutions in extended teleparallel gravity theories with a teleparallel Gauss-Bonnet term

In the context of extended Teleparallel gravity theories with a 3+1 dimensions Gauss-Bonnet analog term, we address the possibility of these theories reproducing several well-known cosmological solutions. In particular when applied to a Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker geometry in four-dimensional spacetime with standard fluids exclusively. We study different types of gravitational Lagrangians and reconstruct solutions provided by analytical expressions for either the cosmological scale factor or the Hubble parameter. We also show that it is possible to find Lagrangians of this type without a cosmological constant such that the behaviour of the LCDM model is precisely mimicked. The new Lagrangians may also lead to other phenomenological consequences opening up the possibility for new theories to compete directly with other extensions of General Relativity.

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arXiv2017

Some aspects of reconstruction using a scalar field in f (T ) Gravity

General relativity characterizes gravity as a geometric property exhibited on spacetime by massive objects while teleparallel gravity achieves the same results, at the level of equations, by taking a torsional perspective of gravity. Similar to f (R) theory, teleparallel gravity can also be generalized to f (T ), with the resulting field equations being inherently distinct from f (R) gravity in that they are second order, while in the former case they turn out to be fourth order. In the present case, a minimally coupled scalar field is investigated in the f (T ) gravity context for several forms of the scalar field potential. A number of new f (T ) solutions are found for these potentials, with their respective state parameters also being examined.

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arXiv2016

Stability of the flat FLRW metric in $f(T)$ gravity

In this paper, we investigate the stability of the flat FLRW metric in $f(T)$ gravity. This is achieved by analysing the small perturbations, $δ$ about the Hubble parameter and the matter energy density, $δ_\text{m}$. We find that $δ\propto \dot{H}/H$ and $δ_{\text{m}} \propto H$. Since the Hubble parameter depends on the function $f(T)$, two models were considered (A) the power-law model $f(T) = α(-T)^n$, and (B) the exponential model $f(T) = αT_0 \left(1 - \exp \left[-p \sqrt{\dfrac{T}{T_0}}\right]\right)$, where the parameters $n$ and $p$ were chosen to give comparable physical results. For the parameters considered, it was found that the solutions are stable with vanishing $δ$ and decaying then constant $δ_{\text{m}}$, meaning that the matter perturbations persist during late times.

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arXiv2016

Growth factor in $f(T,\mathcal{T})$ gravity

We investigate the growth factor for sub-horizon modes during late times in $f(T,\mathcal{T})$ gravity, where $T$ is the torsion scalar and $\mathcal{T}$ is the trace of the stress-energy tensor. This is achieved by obtaining the modified Mészáros equation, which describes the evolution of the perturbations of the matter energy density, and obtaining numerical results. Such results are obtained by solving the modified continuity equation and analysing the behaviour of the solutions of the latter using various constraints on the integration constants. Furthermore, the role of the anisotropic term $π^{S}$ is investigated.

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arXiv2016

Solar System tests in $f(T)$ gravity

We investigate the four solar system tests of gravity - perihelion precession, light bending, Shapiro time delay, gravitational redshift - in $f(T)$ gravity. In particular, we investigate the solution derived by Ruggiero and Radicella, Phys. Rev. D 91, 104014 (2015), for a nondiagonal vierbein field for a polynomial $f(T) = T + αT^n$, where $α$ is a constant and $|n| \neq 1$. In this paper, we derive the solutions for each test, in which Weinberg's, Bodenner and Will's, Cattani et al. and Rindler and Ishak's methods are applied, Gravitation and Cosmology: Principles and Applications of the General Theory of Relativity (Wiley, New York, 1972); Am. J. Phys. 71 (2003); Phys. Rev. D 87, 047503 (2013); Phys. Rev. D 76, 043006 (2007). We set a constraint on alpha for $n$ = 2, 3 by using data available from literature.

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