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In this paper, working in a Friedman-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW), first, in the flat case, we recover the generalized Friedman equation of Quantum Loop cosmology, and therefore the cosmological bounce, in the framework of modified teleparallel gravity $f(T)$-model, $T$ being the torsion scalar introduced in teleparallel gravity approach, without invoking unconventional exotic matter. Furthermore we study the associated perturbations again in a flat FLRW space-time. Then, we generalize the results to the curved FLRW space-time, where some issues related to the choice of tetrad exist, by using an appropriate formulation. In this context, the results of Born-Infeld model are also investigated., 13 pages, version accepted for publication on PRD

We analytically derive a class of non-singular, static and spherically symmetric topological black hole metrics inF(R)-gravity. These have not a de Sitter core at their centre, as most model in standard General Relativity. We study the geometric properties and the motion of test particles around these objects. Since they have two horizons, the inner being of Cauchy type, we focus on the problem of mass inflation and show that it occurs except when some extremal conditions are met., version accepted for publication

An effective Lagrangian approach based on an extended Einstein-Aether (EA) model is presented and formulated in a generic non flat Fridman-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) space-time. For a flat FLRW space-time, a Friedmann equation similar to the one obtained in Quantum Loop Cosmology (QLC) is reproduced, with related non singular bounce solution. Finally, the Static Spherically Symmetric (SSS) solutions are investigated., Comment: 12 pages, final version, accepted in PRD

An effective Lagrangian approach, partly inspired by Quantum Loop Cosmology (QLC), is presented and formulated in a non flat FLRW space-times, making use of modified gravitational models. The models considered are non generic, and their choice is dictated by the necessity to have at least second order differential equations of motion in a non flat FLRW space-time. This is accomplished by a class of Lagrangian which are not analytic in the curvature invariants, or making use of a mimetic gravitational scalar field. It is shown that, for some effective models, the associated generalized Friedmann equation, in general, may admit non singular metrics as solutions, while the de Sitter space-time is present only for a restricted class, which includes General Relativity and Lovelock gravity. The other models admit pseudo de Sitter solutions, namely FLRW metrics, such that for vanishing spatial curvature looks like flat de Sitter patch, but for non vanishing spatial curvature are regular bounce metrics or, when the spatial curvature is negative, Big-Bang singular metrics., Comment: 17 pages, final version accepted in Physics of the Dark Universe

The general form of the action growth for a large class of static black hole solutions in modified gravity which includes $F(R)$-gravity models is computed. The cases of black hole solutions with non vanishing Ricci curvature are also considered, generalizing the results previously found and valid only for constant curvature black holes. An argument is put forward to provide a physical interpretation of the results., 18 pages, comments and references added, version to appear in PRD

We present a review on Lagrangian models admitting spherically symmetric regular black holes, and cosmological bounce solutions. Non-linear electrodynamics, non-polynomial gravity, and fluid approaches are explained in details. They consist respectively in a gauge invariant generalization of the Maxwell Lagrangian, in modifications of the Einstein-Hilbert action via non-polynomial curvature invariants, and finally in the reconstruction of density profiles able to cure the central singularity of black holes. The non-polynomial gravity curvature invariants have the special property to be second order and polynomial in the metric field, in spherically symmetric spacetimes. Along the way, other models and results are discussed, and some general properties that regular black holes should satisfy are mentioned. A covariant Sakharov criterion for the absence of singularities in dynamical spherically symmetric spacetimes is also proposed and checked for some examples of such regular metric fields., 39 pages; submitted and accepted for publication in Int. J. Mod. Phys. D; references added

We present a unified approach for the study of idealized gravitational compact objects like wormholes (WHs) and horizonless stars, here simulated by the presence of boundary conditions at a deeply inner wall. At the classical level, namely neglecting quantum effects, the presence of the wall leads to characteristic echoes following the usual ringdown phase, such that it can discriminate black holes from other horizonless, and probably exotic, compact objects. With regard to this issue, an analytical though approximated expression for the complex frequencies of the quasinormal echoes is found and discussed. At the quantum level, we show that static WHs do not radiate.

An attempt is made in order to clarify the so called regular black holes issue. It is revisited that if one works within General Relativity minimally coupled with non linear source, mainly of electromagnetic origin, and within a static spherically symmetric ansatz for the metric, there is still room for singular contribution to the black hole solution. A reconstruction method is proposed and several examples are discussed, including new ones. A possible way to obtain a non singular black hole is introduced, and in this case, several known examples are re-discussed, and new ones are provided., Comment: 15 pages, version to appear in GRG, references added

The Lagrangian derivation of the Equations of Motion for topological static spherically symmetric metrics in $\mathcal F (R,G)$-modified gravity is presented and the related solutions are discussed. In particular, a new topological solution for the model $\mathcal F (R,G)=R+\sqrt{G}$ is found. The black hole solutions and the First Law of thermodynamic are analyzed. Furthermore, the coupling with electromagnetic field is also considered and a Maxwell solution is derived.

In the present paper, Unruh--DeWitt detectors are used in order to investigate the issue of temperature associated with a spherically symmetric dynamical space-times. Firstly, we review the semi-classical tunneling method, then we introduce the Unruh--DeWitt detector approach. We show that for the generic static black hole case and the FRW de Sitter case, making use of peculiar Kodama trajectories, semiclassical and quantum field theoretic techniques give the same standard and well known thermal interpretation, with an associated temperature, corrected by appropriate Tolman factors. For a FRW space-time interpolating de Sitter space with the Einstein--de Sitter universe (that is a more realistic situation in the frame of $\Lambda$CDM cosmologies), we show that the detector response splits into a de Sitter contribution plus a fluctuating term containing no trace of Boltzmann-like factors, but rather describing the way thermal equilibrium is reached in the late time limit. As a consequence, and unlike the case of black holes, the identification of the dynamical surface gravity of a cosmological trapping horizon as an effective temperature parameter seems lost, at least for our co-moving simplified detectors. The possibility remains that a detector performing a proper motion along a Kodama trajectory may register something more, in which case the horizon surface gravity would be associated more likely to vacuum correlations than to particle creation., Comment: 19 pages, to appear on IJTP. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1101.5254

The final publication is available at www.springerlink.com, We study all four types of finite-time future singularities emerging in the late-time accelerating (effective quintessence/phantom) era from ℱ(R,G)-gravity, where R and G are the Ricci scalar and the Gauss–Bonnet invariant, respectively. As an explicit example of ℱ(R,G)-gravity, we also investigate modified Gauss–Bonnet gravity, so-called F(G)-gravity. In particular, we reconstruct the F(G)-gravity and ℱ(R,G)-gravity models where accelerating cosmologies realizing the finite-time future singularities emerge. Furthermore, we discuss a possible way to cure the finite-time future singularities in F(G)-gravity and ℱ(R,G)-gravity by taking into account higher-order curvature corrections. The example of non-singular realistic modified Gauss–Bonnet gravity is presented. It turns out that adding such non-singular modified gravity to singular Dark Energy makes the combined theory a non-singular one as well.

We use relative zeta functions technique of W. Muller to investigate the regularized partition function of a finite temperature quantum field theory on an ultrastatic space-time with noncompact spatial section. As an application, we study the case of massless scalar field with singular delta-like potential, as described in [1].

We consider a variant of the Nojiri-Odintsov covariant Horava-like gravitational model, where diffeomorphism invariance is broken dynamically via a non-standard coupling to a perfect fluid. The theory allows to address some of the potential instability problems present in Horava-Lifshitz gravity due to explicit diffeomorphism invariance breaking. The fluid is instead constructed from a scalar field constrained by a Lagrange multiplier. In fact, the Lagrange multiplier construction allows for an extension of the Horava-like model to include the scalar field of mimetic gravity, an extension which we thoroughly explore. By adding a potential for the scalar field, we show how one can reproduce a number of interesting cosmological scenarios. We then turn to the study of perturbations around a flat FLRW background, showing that the fluid in question behaves as an irrotational fluid, with zero sound speed. To address this problem, we consider a modified version of the theory, adding higher derivative terms in a way which brings us beyond the Horndeski framework. We compute the sound speed in this modified higher order mimetic Horava-like model and show that it is non-zero, which means that perturbations therein can be sensibly defined. Caveats to our analysis, as well as comparisons to projectable Horava-Lifshitz gravity, are also discussed. In conclusion, we present a theory of gravity which preserves diffeomorphism invariance at the level of the action but breaks it dynamically in the UV, reduces to General Relativity in the IR, allows the realization of a number of interesting cosmological scenarios, is well defined when considering perturbations around a flat FLRW background, and features cosmological dark matter emerging as an integration constant., v3: corrected some minor typos found post-publication

A specific Horndeski scalar-gravity mimetic model is investigated within a FLWR space-time. The mimetic scalar field is implemented via a Lagrangian multiplier, and it is shown that the model has equations of motion formally similar to the original simpler mimetic matter model of Chamseddine-Mukhanov-Vikman. Several exact solutions describing inflation, bounces, future time singularities are presented and discussed., 9 pages

We study topological black hole solutions of the simplest quadratic gravity action and we find that two classes are allowed. The first is asymptotically flat and mimics the Reissner-Nordstr\"om solution, while the second is asymptotically de Sitter or anti-de Sitter. In both classes, the geometry of the horizon can be spherical, toroidal or hyperbolic. We focus in particular on the thermodynamical properties of the asymptotically anti-de Sitter solutions and we compute the entropy and the internal energy with Euclidean methods. We find that the entropy is positive-definite for all horizon geometries and this allows to formulate a consistent generalized first law of black hole thermodynamics, which keeps in account the presence of two arbitrary parameters in the solution. The two-dimensional thermodynamical state space is fully characterized by the underlying scale invariance of the action and it has the structure of a projective space. We find a kind of duality between black holes and other objects with the same entropy in the state space. We briefly discuss the extension of our results to more general quadratic actions., Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review D

A quantum field theoretical approach, in which a quantum probe is used to investigate the properties generic non-flat FLRW space-times is discussed. The probe is identified with a conformally coupled massless scalar field defined on a space-time with horizon and the procedure to investigate the local properties is realized by the use of Unruh-DeWitt detector and by the evaluation of the regularized quantum fluctuations. In the case of de Sitter space, the coordinate independence of our results is checked, and the Gibbons-Hawking temperature is recovered. A possible generalization to the electromagnetic probe is also briefly indicated., 6 pages

It is shown that in some multi-supergraviton models, the contributions to the effective potential due to a non-trivial topology can be positive, giving rise in this way to a positive cosmological constant, as demanded by cosmological observations., Comment: 12 pages, LaTex, 3 figures; accepted version, to be published in PLB

A general expression for the vacuum expectation values of some physical observables as well as their relative variances are derived by means of zeta function regularisation.

Thermodynamics of extended gravity static spherically symmetric black hole solutions is investigated. The energy issue is discussed making use of the derivation of Clausius relation from equations of motion, evaluating the black hole entropy by the Wald method and computing the related Hawking temperature., 3 pages, no figures, contribution to MG13 Proceedings, Stockholm

In this paper, we reconstruct viable inflationary models by starting from spectral index and tensor-to-scalar ratio from Planck observations. We analyze three different kinds of models: scalar field theories, fluid cosmology and f(R)-modified gravity. We recover the well known R^2-inflation in Jodan frame and Einstein frame representation, the massive scalar inflaton models and two models of inhomogeneous fluid. A model of R^2-correction to Einstein's gravity plus a "cosmological constant" with an exact solution for early time acceleration is reconstructed., Comment: 14 pages

In this work, we analyse static spherically symmetric solutions in the framework of mimetic gravity, an extension of general relativity where the conformal degree of freedom of gravity is isolated in a covariant fashion. Here we extend previous works by considering in addition a potential for the mimetic field. An appropriate choice of such potential allows for the reconstruction of a number of interesting cosmological and astrophysical scenarios. We explicitly show how to reconstruct such a potential for a general static spherically symmetric space-time. A number of applications and scenarios are then explored, among which traversable wormholes. Finally, we analytically reconstruct potentials which leads to solutions to the equations of motion featuring polynomial corrections to the Schwarzschild spacetime. Accurate choices for such corrections could provide an explanation for the inferred flat rotation curves of spiral galaxies within the mimetic gravity framework, without the need for particle dark matter., Comment: Version accepted for publication in Class. Quant. Grav

In a series of recent papers Kallosh, Linde, and collaborators have provided a unified description of single-field inflation with several types of potentials, ranging from power law to supergravity, in terms of just one parameter $\alpha$. These so-called $\alpha$-attractors predict a spectral index $n_{s}$ and a tensor-to-scalar ratio $r$, which are fully compatible with the latest Planck data. The only common feature of all $\alpha$-attractors is a non-canonical kinetic term with a pole, and a potential analytic around the pole. In this paper, starting from the same Einstein frame with a non-canonical scalar kinetic energy, we explore the case of non-analytic potentials. We find the functional form that corresponds to quasi-scale invariant gravitational models in the Jordan frame, characterised by a universal relation between $r$ and $n_{s}$ that fits the observational data but is clearly distinct from the one of the $\alpha$-attractors. It is known that the breaking of the exact classical scale-invariance in the Jordan frame can be attributed to one-loop corrections. Therefore we conclude that there exists a class of non-analytic potentials in the non-canonical Einstein frame that are physically equivalent to a class of models in the Jordan frame, with scale-invariance softly broken by one-loop quantum corrections., Comment: Version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D

Covariant renormalizable gravity is a Horava-like extension of general relativity, enjoying full diffeomorphism invariance. However, the price to pay in order to maintain both covariance and renormalizability is the presence of an unknown fluid, whose non-standard coupling dynamically breaks Lorentz invariance. In this brief work we identify and explain the nature of this fluid, which we note describes the conformal mode of gravity, and arises naturally in frameworks such as that of mimetic gravity. Finally, we lay out extensions of the covariant Horava-like model, which can serve as a guide for future model-building in this area., Comment: Minor edits, additional references added

After a brief survey of zeta function regularization issues and of the related multiplicative anomaly, illustrated with a couple of basic examples, namely the harmonic oscillator and quantum field theory at finite temperature, an application of these methods to the computation of functional determinants corresponding to massive Laplacians on spheres in arbitrary dimensions is presented. Explicit formulas are provided for the Laplace operator on spheres in $N=1,2,3,4$ dimensions and for `vector' and `tensor' Laplacians on the unitary sphere $S^4$., 15 pages, LaTex

Motivated by issues on inflation, a generalized modified gravity model is investigated, where the model Lagrangian is described by a smooth function $f(R, K, \phi)$ of the Ricci scalar $R$, the kinetic term $K$ of a scalar field $\phi$. In particular, the one-loop effective action in the de Sitter background is examined on-shell as well as off-shell in the Landau gauge. In addition, the on-shell quantum equivalence of $f(R)$ gravity in the Jordan and Einstein frames is explicitly demonstrated. Furthermore, we present applications related to the stability of the de Sitter solutions and the one-loop quantum correction to inflation in quantum-corrected $R^2$ gravity. It is shown that for a certain range of parameters, the spectral index of the curvature perturbations can be consistent with the Planck analysis, but the tensor-to-scalar ratio is smaller than the minimum value within the 1 $\sigma$ error range of the BICEP2 result., Comment: 21 pages, no figure, several references added

The BICEP2 collaboration has recently released data showing that the scalar-to-tensor ratio $r$ is much larger than expected. The immediate consequence, in the context of $f(R)$ gravity, is that the Starobinsky model of inflation is ruled out since it predicts a value of $r$ much smaller than what is observed. Of course, the BICEP2 data need verification, especially from Planck with which there is some tension, therefore any conclusion seems premature. However, it is interesting to ask what would be the functional form of $f(R)$ in the case when the value of $r$ is different from the one predicted by the Starobinsky model. In this paper, we show how to determine the form of $f(R)$, once the slow-roll parameters are known with some accuracy. The striking result is that, for given values of the scalar spectral index $n_{S}$ and $r$, the effective Lagrangian has the form $f(R)=R^{\zeta}$, where $\zeta=2-\varepsilon$ and $|\varepsilon|\ll 1$. Therefore, it appears that the inflationary phase of the Universe is best described by a $R^{2}$ theory, with a small deviation that, as we show, can be obtained by quantum corrections., Comment: Matches version on JCAP

The issue related to the so-called dimensional reduction procedure is revisited within the Euclidean formalism. First, it is shown that for symmetric spaces, the local exact heat-kernel density is equal to the reduced one, once the harmonic sum has been succesfully performed. In the general case, due to the impossibility to deal with exact results, the short time heat-kernel asymptotics is considered. It is found that the exact heat-kernel and the dimensionally reduced one coincide up to two non trivial leading contributions in the short time expansion. Implications of these results with regard to dimensional-reduction anomaly are discussed., Comment: 15 pages, Latex, enlarged discussion added in Sec 3 and typos corrected. Version to appear in Nucl. Phys. B

The role of bulk matter quantum effects (via the corresponding effective potential discussed on the example of conformal scalar) and of boundary matter quantum effects (via the conformal anomaly induced effective action) is considered in brane-world cosmology. Scenario is used where brane tension is not free parameter, and the initial bulk-brane classical action is defined by some considerations. The effective bulk-brane equations of motion are analyzed. The quantum creation of 4d de Sitter or Anti-de Sitter(AdS) brane Universe living in 5d AdS space is possible when quantum bulk and (or) brane matter is taken into account. The consideration of only conformal field theory (CFT) living on the brane admits the full analytical treatment. Then bulk gravitational Casimir effect leads to deformation of 5d AdS space shape as well as of shape of spherical or hyperbolic branes. The generalization of above picture for the dominant bulk quantum gravity naturally represents such scenario as self-consistent warped compactification within AdS/CFT set-up., Comment: LaTeX file, 17 pages, minor changes

The formulation of Brans-Dicke (BD) gravity with matter in the Einstein frame is realized as Einstein gravity with dilaton and dilaton coupled matter. We calculate the one-loop 4d anomaly-induced effective action due to N dilaton- coupled massless fermions on the time-dependent conformally flat background with non-trivial dilaton. Using that complete effective action the (fourth-order) quantum corrected equations of motion are derived. One special solution of these equations representing an inflationary Universe (with exponential scale factor) and (much slower) expanding BD dilaton is given. Similarly, the 2d quantum BD Universe with time-dependent dilaton is constructed. In the last case the dynamics is completely due to quantum effects., Comment: 10 pages, 3 additional references

It is shown that the multiplicative anomaly in the vector-axial-vector model, which apparently has nothing to do with the breaking of classical current symmetries, nevertheless is strictly related to the well known consistent and covariant anomalies.

We study inflation induced by (power-low) scalar curvature corrections to General Relativity. The class of inflationary scalar potentials $V(\sigma)\sim\exp[n\,\sigma]$, $n$ general parameter, is investigated in the Einsein frame and the corresponding actions in the Jordan frame are derived. We found the conditions for which these potentials are able to reproduce viable inflation according with the last cosmological data and lead to large scalar curvature corrections which emerge only at a mass scale larger than the Planck mass. Cosmological constant may appear or be set equal to zero in the Jordan frame action without changing the behaviour of the model during inflation. Moreover, polynomial corrections to General Relativity are analyzed in detail. When de Sitter space-time emerges as an exact solution of the models, it is necessary to use perturbative equations in the Jordan framework to study their dynamics during the inflation. In this case, we demonstrate that the Ricci scalar decreases after a correct amount of inflation, making the models consistent with the observable evolution of the universe., Comment: 23 pages, minor revision done

The regularized vacuum fluctuation related to a conformally coupled massless scalar field defined on a space-time with dynamical horizon is computed with respect a radially moving observer in a generic flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker space-time. Two simple measurement prescriptions are given in order to remove the ambiguity associated with the short distance singularity of the correlation function. In some cases, it turns out that one is dealing with a quantum thermometer, recovering a proposal due to Buchholzet al. in order to determine local temperature in the framework of quantum field theory. In general, by arranging the detector so that it does not register for inertial motion in flat space, the regularized quantum fluctuation may be used as a probe of space-time geometry and, in particular, may provide informations on the Hubble parameter. As an aside, it is not possible in general to fully decouple the effect of the detector motion from the universe expansion, a fact that could be interpreted as a kind of Machian effect which can be traced back to the worldwide nature of the vacuum., Comment: 17 pages, standard LateX document

The Ray-Singer torsion for a compact smooth hyperbolic 3-dimensional manifold ${\cal H}^3$ is expressed in terms of Selberg zeta-functions, making use of the associated Selberg trace formulae. Applications to the evaluation of the semiclassical asymptotics of the Witten's invariant for the Chern-Simons theory with gauge group SU(2) as well as to the sum over topologies in 3-dimensional quantum gravity are presented., Latex file, 15 pages. Some improvements, grammatical mistakes and typos corrected

The functional determinant of Laplace-type operators on the 3-dimensional non-compact hyperbolic manifold with invariant fundamental domain of finite volume is computed by quadratures and making use of the related terms of the Selberg trace formula.

The analytic properties of the ζ-function for a Laplace operator on a generalised cone \(\mathbb{R}^2 \times \mathcal{M}^{\text{N}}\) are studied in some detail using Cheeger's approach and explicit expressions are given. In the compact case, the ζ-function of the Laplace operator turns out to be singular at the origin. As a result, strictly speaking, the ζ-function regularisation does not ‘regularise’ and a further subtraction is required for the related one-loop effective potential.

In this work we take moves from the debate triggered by Melia et al [9]. and followed by opposite comments by Lewis and Oirschot [10,11]. The point in question regards the role of the Hubble horizon as a limit for observability in a cosmological setting. We propose to take the issue in a broader way by relating it to the causal character of the Hubble surface and to the tracing of null trajectories, focusing on both three-fluids and generalized Chaplygin gas models. The results should make clear that light rays reaching a comoving observer at R(t_0)=0 have never travelled a distance greater than the areal radius of the horizon until t_0., 14 pages, no figures, added references and a new paragraph in Sec.4. Final version accepted in PRD

Specific dark energy models with a linear inhomogeneous time-dependent equation of state, within the framework of 4d Friedman-Robertson-Walker (FRW) cosmology, are investigated. It is demonstrated that such 4d inhomogeneous fluid models may lead to a turbulence FRW cosmology. Both one-component and two-component models from 4d inhomogeneous dark fluid models are considered. In the one-component model the universe may develop from a viscous era with, for instance, a constant bulk viscosity, into a turbulent era. In the two-component model the fluid can be decomposed into two components, one non-turbulent (ideal) and another turbulent part, obeying two different equations of state. Conditions for the appearance of the turbulent dark energy universe in terms of the parameters in the equation of state (EoS) without introducing the turbulence concept explicitly are are obtained. An equivalent description in terms of an inhomogeneous fluid for the viscous Little Rip (LR) cosmology is also developed., 14 pages latex2e, no figures. To appear in Astrophys. Space Sci

A toy model of Einstein gravity with a Gauss-Bonnet classically "entropic" term mimicking a quantum correction is considered. The static black hole solution due to Tomozawa is found and generalized with the inclusion of non trivial horizon topology, and its entropy evaluated deriving the first law by equations of motion. As a result the Bekenstein-Hawking area law turns to be corrected by a logarithmic area term. A Misner-Sharp expression for the mass of black hole is found. Within a Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) cosmological setting, the model is used in order to derive modified Friedmann equations. Such new equations are shown to reproduce the first law with the same formal entropy and quasi local energy of the static case, but here within a FLRW space-time interpreted as a dynamical cosmological black hole. A detailed analysis of cosmological solutions is presented, and it is shown that the presence of the correction term provides regular solutions and interesting phases of acceleration and decelerations, as well as, with negligible matter, exact de Sitter solutions., Comment: 11 pages, published version

The first quantum corrections to the free energy for an eternal 4-dimensional black hole is investigated at one-loop level, in the large mass limit of the black hole, making use of the conformal techniques related to the optical metric. The quadratic and logarithmic divergences as well as a finite part associated with the first quantum correction to the entropy are obtained at a generic temperature. It is argued that, at the Hawking temperature, the horizon divergences of the internal energy should cancel. Some comments on the divergences of the entropy are also presented.

Spherically symmetric static topological black hole solutions associated with some extended higher order gravitational models in the presence of a Maxwell-field are derived by means of simple Lagrangian method, based on spherically symmetric reduction. Some new topological black hole solutions are presented and the validity of the First Law is investigated, and in these cases an expression for the energy is provided., 17 pages, published version

The Campanelli-Lousto solutions of Brans-Dicke theory, usually reported as black holes are reconsidered and shown to describe, according to the values of a parameter, wormholes or naked singularities. The veiled Schwarzschild metric recently used as an example to discuss conformal frames and their equivalence corresponds to a special case of the CL metric. The conformal cousins of these solutions, and of the Riegert black hole solution of conformally invariant Weyl theory, are analysed, leading to a word of caution when interpreting physically spacetimes generated via conformal transformations from known seed solutions., Comment: Added some discussion, and appendix, and a few references, removed typographical errors. Version to appear in Phys. Rev. D

Motivated by the dark energy issue, the one-loop quantization approach for a class of relativistic higher order theories is discussed in some detail. A specific F(R,P,Q) gravity model at the one-loop level in a de Sitter universe is investigated, extending the similar program developed for the case of $F(R)$ gravity. The stability conditions under arbitrary perturbations are derived., Comment: Latex, 10 pages, to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. (special issue in honor of Prof. S. Dowker)

A theory of exponential modified gravity which explains both early-time inflation and late-time acceleration, in a unified way, is proposed. The theory successfully passes the local tests and fulfills the cosmological bounds and, remarkably, the corresponding inflationary era is proven to be unstable. Numerical investigation of its late-time evolution leads to the conclusion that the corresponding dark energy epoch is not distinguishable from the one for the $\Lambda$CDM model. Several versions of this exponential gravity, sharing similar properties, are formulated. It is also shown that this theory is non-singular, being protected against the formation of finite-time future singularities. As a result, the corresponding future universe evolution asymptotically tends, in a smooth way, to de Sitter space, which turns out to be the final attractor of the system., Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, version to appear in PRD

In the paper, the temperature associated with a dynamical spherically symmetric black hole or with a cosmological horizon is investigated from the point of view of a point-like detector. First, we briefly review the Hamilton-Jacobi tunneling method for a generic dynamical spherically symmetric space-time, and present two applications of the tunneling method. Then, we apply a well-known relativistic quantum theoretical technique, namely the Unruh-DeWitt detector formalism for a conformally coupled scalar field in a generic FRW space-time. As an application, for the generic static black hole case and the FRW de Sitter case, making use of peculiar Kodama observer trajectories, the tunneling semiclassical results are fully recovered, automatically corrected by Tolman factors. Some remarks on the temperature of FRW universe are presented. For more general spaces interpolating de Sitter space with the Einstein-de Sitter universe a second set of poles is present, whose exact role remains to be clarified, plus an extra fluctuating term describing the way equilibrium is reached, similarly to de Sitter space. The simple thermal interpretation found for de Sitter space is lost and forces, at a same time, a different quantum interpretation of the horizon surface gravity for the cosmological FRW models., Comment: 24 pages; 1 figure