A Multi-Parameter Investigation of Gravitational Slip

TL;DR

This paper investigates gravitational slip as a new cosmological parameter indicating deviations from general relativity, analyzing its effects on cosmic acceleration, structure formation, and observational data, with implications for future experiments.

Contribution

It introduces and constrains a new parameter for gravitational modifications, providing a multiparameter analysis of its effects on cosmological observations.

Findings

The parameter $oldsymbol{ ext{ extpi}}_0$ is constrained to 0.09 with large uncertainties.

Current data are consistent with general relativity ($ ext{ extpi}_0=0$).

Future experiments could tighten these constraints significantly.

Abstract

A detailed analysis of gravitational slip, a new post-general relativity cosmological parameter characterizing the degree of departure of the laws of gravitation from general relativity on cosmological scales, is presented. This phenomenological approach assumes that cosmic acceleration is due to new gravitational effects; the amount of spacetime curvature produced per unit mass is changed in such a way that a universe containing only matter and radiation begins to accelerate as if under the influence of a cosmological constant. Changes in the law of gravitation are further manifest in the behavior of the inhomogeneous gravitational field, as reflected in the cosmic microwave background, weak lensing, and evolution of large-scale structure. The new parameter, $\varpi_0$, is naively expected to be of order unity. However, a multiparameter analysis, allowing for variation of all the standard cosmological parameters, finds that $\varpi_0 = 0.09^{+0.74}_{-0.59} (2\sigma)$ where $\varpi_0=0$ corresponds to a $\Lambda$CDM universe under general relativity. Future probes of the cosmic microwave background (Planck) and large-scale structure (Euclid) may improve the limits by a factor of four.