f(T) Gravity and Cosmology

Περίληψη:

Torsion has been proved to be crucial in gauging gravity, which is in
turn a necessary step towards its quantization. On the other hand,
almost all the efforts in modifying gravity has been performed in the
usual curvature-based framework. We investigate the case where one
modifies gravity based on its simplest torsional-teleparallel
formulation, namely the f(T) gravity paradigm, and its cosmological
applications. In particular, we analyze the perturbations of the
theory examining the growth history, we construct a cosmological
bounce, and we use solar system observations in order to impose
constraints on the f(T) forms. Additionally, we study the case where T
is nonminimally coupled to a scalar field, that is the scenario of
“teleparallel dark energy”. Finally we analyze the charged black hole
solutions of the theory, performing a comparison between f(R) and f(T)
modifications.