Hubble Diagrams in the Jordan and Einstein Frames

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether Hubble diagrams can distinguish between Jordan and Einstein frames in $f(R)$ gravity, concluding that only the rate of change over time, not the diagram itself, can serve as a differentiator.

Contribution

It demonstrates that Hubble diagrams alone cannot differentiate between the Jordan and Einstein frames, but their temporal evolution can.

Findings

Hubble diagrams are insufficient to distinguish the frames.

Long-term measurements of Hubble diagram changes can differentiate the frames.

Particle mass variation affects the interpretability of Hubble diagrams.

Abstract

Different models in cosmology generally predict different Hubble diagrams. Then, the comparison between the Hubble diagrams may be used as a way for distinguishing between different cosmological scenarios. But that is not always the case because there is no guarantee that two different models always have different Hubble diagrams. It may be possible for two physically-inequivalent models to have the same Hubble diagrams. In that case, the Hubble diagram cannot be used to differentiate between two models and it is necessary to find another way to distinguish between them. Therefore, the question of whether two different scenarios are distinguishable by using the Hubble diagrams is an important question which would not have an obvious answer. The Jordan and Einstein frames of $f(R)$ theories of gravity are inequivalent, provided that the metricity condition holds in both frames. In the present paper it is argued that if the time-variation of particle masses in the Einstein frame is taken into consideration, the Hubble diagram derived practically from type Ia supernova surveys does not enable us to differentiate between these two frames. Nevertheless, we show that by waiting long enough to measure the change in Hubble diagram it is possible to differentiate between two frames. In other words, the Hubble diagram cannot be employed alone to differentiate between two frames but comparison between the rates of changes in Hubble diagrams can provide a way to do so.