Vector-tensor gravity from a broken gauge symmetry

TL;DR

This paper develops a Yang-Mills inspired gauge theory of vector-tensor gravity, revealing two solution branches for static spacetimes and showing the vector field's role in cosmic acceleration.

Contribution

It introduces a novel gauge-theoretic formulation of vector-tensor gravity linked to Generalized Proca theories, with new solutions for static and cosmological spacetimes.

Findings

Two branches of static solutions with different asymptotics

Vector field influences accelerated cosmic expansion

Theory encompasses known Generalized Proca models

Abstract

In this paper we present a Yang-Mills type gauge theory of vector-tensor gravity, where the tetrad, the spin connection and vector field are identified with components of the gauge field. This setup leads to a theory that is contained in Generalized Proca theories. We solve for static and spherically symmetric space-time and show that there are two branches of solutions, one where the metric is asymptotically Schwarzschild even though there is a cosmological constant in the action, and another one where the metric is asymptotically (anti-)de Sitter. Also, we study the effect of the vector field on homogeneous and isotropic spacetimes, finding that it contributes to the accelerated expansion of the metric.