EPJ C Highlight - Curvature Oscillations in Modified Gravity Theories as Possible Source of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Rays
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- Published on 07 December 2012
The origin of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, with energies around the GZK cutoff, remains an unsolved mystery. In the present letter a novel and intriguing explanation is suggested that links far-reaching fundamental aspects of F(R) modified theories to an efficient production of highly energetic cosmic rays during the recent history of the Universe.
At the core of this work lies the proof that in cosmological and astrophysical systems with rising energy densities, the F(R) modified theories of gravity exhibit powerful oscillations of the curvature scalar R, with an amplitude much larger than the standard value of curvature predicted by the General Relativity. These oscillations are strongly anharmonic, with frequencies that can be as large as billions of GeV. This striking and rather unexpected oscillatory behavior of R lends support to the idea that ultra-high energy cosmic rays can be generated by such curvature oscillations at the appropriate cosmological redshifts.
Curvature oscillations in modified gravity and high energy cosmic rays. E.V. Arbuzova, A.D. Dolgov, L. Reverberi (2012), European Physical Journal C 72:2247, DOI 10.1140/epjc/s10052-012-2247-z
