Mimetic $F(R)$ gravity: inflation, dark energy and bounce

TL;DR

This paper introduces mimetic $F(R)$ gravity, demonstrating its ability to model early inflation, late-time acceleration, and bounce universes, offering a unified framework for cosmic evolution.

Contribution

It develops a novel mimetic $F(R)$ gravity framework that can reproduce various cosmological scenarios, including inflation, dark energy, and bounce universes, with added scalar potentials.

Findings

Inflation consistent with observations can be realized.

Reconstruction of $ ext{Lambda}$CDM era is possible.

The theory allows arbitrary universe evolution through scalar potential and $F(R)$ choices.

Abstract

We propose the mimetic $F(R)$ theory and investigate the early-time and late-time acceleration in such theory. It is demonstrated that inflation consistent with observable data may be realized in such theory. The reconstruction of realistic $\Lambda$CDM era is also possible as well as the unification of early-time inflation with late-time acceleration or bounce universe. It is stressed that specific universe evolution is governed by mimetic $F(R)$ theory which is different from convenient $F(R)$ gravity. The corresponding examples are presented. Mimetic $F(R)$ gravity is generalized by the addition of the scalar potential in the formulation of convenient $F(R)$ gravity with specific Lagrange multiplier constraint. It is demonstrated that such theory may admit the arbitrary universe evolution via the corresponding choice of the scalar potential and/or function $F(R)$.