Big-bang nucleosynthesis and cosmic microwave background constraints on nonminimally coupled theories of gravity

R. P. L. Azevedo and P. P. Avelino
Phys. Rev. D 98, 064045 – Published 24 September 2018

Abstract

In this paper, we show that the baryon-to-photon ratio η is in general not conserved before decoupling in nonminimally coupled theories of gravity. We use big-bang nucleosynthesis and cosmic microwave background (CMB) limits on the baryon-to-photon ratio η to derive new constraints on modified gravity theories with a universal nonminimal coupling between matter and curvature, showing that they rule out a specific class of models previously considered in the literature as a substitute for the dark matter. We also compare these new constraints with the ones obtained from the COBE-FIRAS limits on CMB spectral distortions, highlighting the complementarity between them.

  • Received 3 July 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.98.064045

© 2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Gravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics

Authors & Affiliations

R. P. L. Azevedo* and P. P. Avelino

  • Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade do Porto, CAUP, Rua das Estrelas, PT4150-762 Porto, Portugal Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, PT4150-762 Porto, Portugal and Departamento de Física e Astronomia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 687, PT4169-007 Porto, Portugal

  • *rplazevedo@fc.up.pt
  • pedro.avelino@astro.up.pt

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Issue

Vol. 98, Iss. 6 — 15 September 2018

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