Cosmological constraints on unimodular

gravity models with diffusion

Susana J. Landau1,2 Micol Benetti 3,4 Alejandro Perez5 Daniel

Sudarsky6

1 Departamento de Fı́sica - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales - UBA

2 Instituto de Fı́sica de Buenos Aires - CONICET - Universidad de Buenos Aires
3 Scuola Superiore Meridionale, Università di Napoli “Federico II”
4 Instituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) Sezione di Napoli
5 Aix Marseille Univ, Université de Toulon, CNRS, CPT
6 Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

COSMOSUR VI - Córdoba - April 2022

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 1 / 27
Motivation

Alternative theories of gravity are considered to account for the

physical mechanism responsible for the present accelerated expansion
of the Universe.
Unimodular gravity with diffusion has been used to offer an account
for the nature and magnitude of the cosmological constant.
Solve or alleviate the Hubble tension.

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 2 / 27
Outline

Granularity, Difussion and Unimodular Gravity

Theoretical Model
Analysis Method
Results
Conclusions

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 3 / 27
Granularity and Violation of the
Energy-Momentum conservation

Perez & Sudarsky PRD 122, 221302 (2019) proposed a scheme to

account for the nature and magnitude of the cosmological constant.
The ingredients that structured the proposal were:
▶ Discreteness of the space-time at Planck scale is naturally expected to
arise for quantum gravity.
▶ Massive fields propagate within the underlying quantum gravity
microstructure and exchange energy with it. This energy diffusion
implies the violation of energy-momentum conservation.
▶ It has been shown that the observable effects of discreteness and
violation of the EM conservation are only relevant in the presence of
strong gravitational fields.

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 4 / 27
Granularity and Violation of the
Energy-Momentum conservation

Perez & Sudarsky PRD 122, 221302 (2019) proposed a scheme to

account for the nature and magnitude of the cosmological constant.
The ingredients that structured the proposal were:
▶ Discreteness of the space-time at Planck scale is naturally expected to
arise for quantum gravity.
▶ Massive fields propagate within the underlying quantum gravity
microstructure and exchange energy with it. This energy diffusion
implies the violation of energy-momentum conservation.
▶ It has been shown that the observable effects of discreteness and
violation of the EM conservation are only relevant in the presence of
strong gravitational fields.
Within the context of General Relativity violations of the conservation
of the energy-momentum tensor are not allowed. However, the theory
known as Unimodular Gravity permits a specific kind of violation
generating a time-dependent Λ in the resulting effective Einstein
equations.
Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 4 / 27
Unimodular Gravity

Unimodular gravity field equations can be derived from the

Einstein-Hilbert action by restricting the variational problem to
variations that preserve the (four) volume-form, gab δgab = 0.
The field equations of UG are simply the trace-free part of the
Einstein equationn:  
1 1
Rab − Rgab = 8πG Tab − T gab , (1)
4 4
which also can be written as:
1 1
Rab − Rgab + (R + 8πGT ) gab = 8πGTab . (2)
2 4

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 5 / 27
Unimodular Gravity

Unimodular gravity field equations can be derived from the

Einstein-Hilbert action by restricting the variational problem to
variations that preserve the (four) volume-form, gab δgab = 0.
The field equations of UG are simply the trace-free part of the
Einstein equationn:  
1 1
Rab − Rgab = 8πG Tab − T gab , (1)
4 4
which also can be written as:
1 1
Rab − Rgab + (R + 8πGT ) gab = 8πGTab . (2)
2 4
Taking the divergence of (2) and using the Bianchi identities
1
∇a (R + 8πGT ) = 8πG∇b Tab ≡ Ja , (3)
4
where Ja = 8πG∇b Tab refers to the current of energy momentum
violation.
Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 5 / 27
The invariance of unimodular gravity under volume-preserving
diffeomorphisms implies that dJ = 0 , and therefore (3) can be integrated,
leading to  Z 
1
Rab − Rgab + Λ0 + J gab = 8πGTab , (4)
2 ℓ
where Λ0 is a constant of integration and J is the ‘energy violation
current’.

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 6 / 27
The invariance of unimodular gravity under volume-preserving
diffeomorphisms implies that dJ = 0 , and therefore (3) can be integrated,
leading to  Z 
1
Rab − Rgab + Λ0 + J gab = 8πGTab , (4)
2 ℓ
where Λ0 is a constant of integration and J is the ‘energy violation
current’. Due to spatial homogeneity, the current Ja can only depend on
time:
J = Λ̇(t) (5)
The Friedman and Raychaudhuri equations for unimodular gravity are
exactly the same as in GR, with Λ a function of cosmological time:

8πG X Λ(t) X
H2 = ρi + , Ḣ = −4πG (ρi + pi ), (6)
3 3
i i

where the index i denotes the different matter fields in the space-time.

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 6 / 27
We consider a homogeneous and isotropic
Friedmann-Lemaı̂tre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) universe, and write the
modified conservation equation:

ρ̇M + 3(ȧ/a)ρM = −ρ̇Λ (7)

We also assume a simple expression for ρΛ :

ρΛ (a) = ρ0Λ + ∆ρ [f (a) − 1] (8)

with


 0 a ∈ (aRAD , a∗ − δ/2) ,





a − a∗ + δ/2

f (a) = a ∈ (a∗ − δ/2, a∗ + δ/2) (9)


 δ




1 a ∈ (a∗ + δ/2, a0 ) ,


Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 7 / 27
Proposed function for ρΛ :

ρΛ

ρΛ−∆ρ

a∗−δ a∗+δ

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 8 / 27
Integrating the modified conservation equation with the proposed ansatz
for ρΛ , we obtain:
A


 a(t)3
 a ∈ (aRAD , a∗ − δ/2) ,







 B
ρM (t) = 3
+ Ca(t) a (a∗ − δ/2, a∗ + δ/2) , (10)

 a(t)




D


a ∈ (a∗ + δ/2, a0 ) .



a(t)3

Where A, B, C and D are functions of the free parameters ∆ρ, a∗, δ and
also depend on the value of ρM and a at the beginning of the radiation era.

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 9 / 27
We recall that baryons and dark matter have different physical interactions
with other particles during the formation of neutral hydrogen and the
following universe evolution. Therefore we propose:
a3RAD ρB (tRAD )
ρB (t) = + αF (a, ∆ρ, a∗ , δ) (11)
a(t)3
a3RAD ρDM (tRAD )
ρDM (t) = + (1 − α)F (a, ∆ρ, a∗ , δ) (12)
a(t)3
where
a ∈ (aRAD , a∗ − δ/2) ,


 0





∆ρ (a∗ − δ/2)4


] a ∈ (a∗ − δ/2, a∗ + δ/2)

∗
F (a, ∆ρ, a , δ) = − [a − 3
 4δ a(t)




∆ρ ∗ 3 (a∗ δ 2 )


a ∈ (a∗ + δ/2, a0 ) .

 −
 [a + ]
a(t)3 4
(13)

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 10 / 27
Next, we assume that the fraction of baryon to dark matter at the
beginning of the radiation era is equal to its present value

ρB (t0 ) ρB (tRAD )
β= = (14)
ρDM (t0 ) ρDM (tRAD )

and we obtain:
β ρB (t0 ) ΩB
α= = = (15)
1+β ρB (t0 ) + ρDM (t0 ) ΩB + ΩDM

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 11 / 27
 ρB (t0 ) ρDM (t0 )
Recalling that ΩB = and ΩDM = we obtain
ρcrit ρcrit
 A
1

3 (t)
a ∈ (aRAD , a∗ − δ/2)
a








(a∗ − δ/2)4

A1 ∆ρ

ρB (t) = − α [a − ] a ∈ (a∗ − δ/2, a∗ + δ/2)
 a3 (t)
 4δ a(t)3





 Ω ρ
 B crit ∈ (a∗ + δ/2, a0 )

 a
a3 (t)
(16)
a∗ δ 2
where A1 = ΩB ρcrit + α∆ρ (a∗ 3 + ).
4

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 12 / 27
And the expression for the dark matter density is:
A2



3 (t)
a ∈ (aRAD , a∗ − δ/2)
a













∗ 4
 A2 − (1 − α) ∆ρ [a − (a − δ/2) ]



ρDM (t) = a3 (t) 4δ a(t)3
a ∈ (a∗ − δ/2, a∗ + δ/2) ,














ΩDM ρcrit


a ∈ (a∗ + δ/2, a0 )


a3 (t)

(17)
a ∗δ2
where A2 = ΩDM ρcrit + (1 − α)∆ρ (a∗ 3 + ).
4

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 13 / 27
The bound on Ωb h2 from nucleosynthesis should be compared with
∗ 2
ΩB h2 + α ∆ρ h2
(a ∗ 3 + a δ ).
ρcrit 4
∆ρ h2
We define ∆ρΛ = ρcrit

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 14 / 27
Effects of unimodular gravity with diffusion
on the CMB Temperature Spectrum

a * = 0.9 = 0.01
6000
Fiducial model
5000
= 0.04
= 0.04
4000
l(l + 1)/2 ClTT

3000

2000

1000

0
101 102 103
l
Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 15 / 27
Effects of unimodular gravity with diffusion
on the CMB Temperature Spectrum

= 0.04 = 0.01
6000
Fiducial model
5000 a * = 0.9
a * = 0.7
4000
l(l + 1)/2 ClTT

3000

2000

1000

0
101 102 103
l
Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 16 / 27
Effects of unimodular gravity with diffusion
on the CMB Temperature Spectrum

= 0.04 a * = 0.7
6000
Fiducial model
5000 = 0.001
= 0.2
4000
l(l + 1)/2 ClTT

3000

2000

1000

0
101 102 103
l
Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 17 / 27
Statistical analysis

We modified the numerical codes CAMB, and COSMOMC to include

the modified expressions of the baryon, dark matter and dark energy
densities.
Data: Planck 2018, CMB lensing, Baryon Acoustic Oscilations from
the 6dFGS, SDSS-MGS, BOSS DR 12 surveys, Sne Ia Pantheon
compilation, Cosmic Chronometers.
We used the Gaussian prior on Mb suggested by Camarena & Marra
MNRAS 504, 5164 (2021).
We consider a spatially-flat cosmological model with adiabatic density
fluctuations. The sum of neutrino masses is fixed to 0,06 eV, and we
limit the analysis to scalar perturbations with k ∗ = 0,05 Mpc.

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 18 / 27
Statistical analysis

We performed two statistical analyses:

▶ Cosmological and unimodular model parameters are allowed to vary:

P = (ΩB h2 , ΩCDM h2 , H0 , τ, ns , As , ∆ρΛ , a∗ , δ)

▶ Cosmological parameters are allowed to vary and unimodular

parameters are fixed:

P = (ΩB h2 , ΩCDM h2 , H0 , τ, ns , As )

2
Here ∆ρΛ = ∆ρ h
ρcrit , τ is the reionization optical depth, As is the amplitude
of the primordial density fluctuations and ns is the scalar spectral index.

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 19 / 27
 unimodular parameters free
unimodular parameters fixed
CDM

0.12
DMh 2

0.112

0.09

0.06

0.03

0.99
ns

0.96

72

70.5
H0

69

67.5

0.0208 0.0224 0.112 0.120 0.03 0.06 0.09 0.96 0.99 67.5 69.0 70.5 72.0
Bh 2 DMh 2 ns H0

Figura: Constraints
Landau et al. (IFIBA) on model cosmological
unimodular parameters
gravity models with diffusion considering
COSMOSUR theApril
VI 25-29 case 2022of
20 / 27
Constraints on model unimodular parameters

0.120

DMh 2
0.8 0.115
0.6
a*

0.4 0.01
0.2 0.00
0.8 0.01
0.6 70
0.4 68

H0
0.2
0.01 0.01 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.022 0.023 0.114 0.120 -0.01 0.01 67 68 69 70
a* Bh 2 DMh 2 H0

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 21 / 27
Results

Parameter ΛCDM Unimodular parameters free Unimodular parameters fixed

mean value and bestfit mean value and bestfit mean value and bestfit
68 % confidence levels 68 % confidence levels 68 % confidence levels
100 ΩB h2 2,250 ± 0,013 2,254 2,242 ± 0,027 2,257 2,123 ± 0,012 2,132
ΩDM h2 0,1186 ± 0,0009 0,1191 0,1181 ± 0,0017 0,1189 0,1140 ± 0,0009 0,1134
τ 0,058 ± 0,007 0,053 0,056 ± 0,007 0,060 0,053 ± 0,007 0,052
ln(1010 As ) 3,050 ± 0,015 3,040 3,045 ± 0,015 3,055 3,058 ± 0,014 3,056
ns 0,9684 ± 0,0036 0,9688 0,9700 ± 0,0056 0,966 0,984 ± 0,004 0,982
∆ρΛ − − 0,0010 ± 0,0040 −0,0003 fixed to 0,09 −
a∗ − − > 0,4 0,8 fixed to 0,4 −
δ − − < 0,65 0,22 fixed to 0,02 −
H0 68,02 ± 0,40 67,88 68,51 ± 0,57 68,24 71,18 ± 0,42 71,43
early 2
100ΩB h − − 2,245+0,038
−0,035 2,255 2,173 ± 0,024 2,182
Ωearly
DM h
2 − − 0,1190 ± 0,0025 0,1195 0,1174 ± 0,0018 0,1168

Nucleosynthesis Constraint: 100 Ωb h2 = (2,1; 2,4)

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 22 / 27
Summary and Conclusions

We have considered a cosmological model, in the context of

Unimodular Gravity, where the violation of the energy-momentum
conservation is driven by diffusion in strong gravitational fields.
This analysis must nevertheless been considered as preliminary due to
our ignorance of the cosmological density of black holes.
By comparison with CMB, BAO, SnIa and CC data we are only able
to constrain the unimodular parameters, ∆ρΛ and δ, while we can at
most find a lower bounds for a∗ .
Our results show that the model does not spontaneously reduce the
tension on H0 , but it has the potential to alleviate this tension
provided a better knowledge of the free parameters of the model is
available.

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 23 / 27
Thank you !!! Obrigado !!! Gracias!!!

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 24 / 27
Granularity and Violation of the
Energy-Momentum conservation

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 25 / 27
 unimodular parameters free
unimodular parameters fixed
CDM

0.12
DMh 2

0.112

0.023
earlyh 2
B

0.022

0.125
earlyh 2

0.12
DM

0.115

0.0208 0.0224 0.112 0.120 0.022 0.023 0.115 0.120 0.125

earlyh 2 earlyh 2
Bh 2 DMh 2 B DM

2
Figura: Constraints
Landau et al. (IFIBA) on model densities
unimodular parameters
gravity models (Ωi hCOSMOSUR
with diffusion ) considering the2022
VI 25-29 April case
26 / 27
 a * = 0.9 = 0.01 = 0.04 = 0.01
6000 6000
Fiducial model Fiducial model
5000
= 0.04 5000 a * = 0.9
= 0.04 a * = 0.7
4000 4000
l(l + 1)/2 ClTT

l(l + 1)/2 ClTT

3000 3000

2000 2000

1000 1000

0 0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 0 500 1000 1500 2000
l l

= 0.04 a * = 0.9
6000
Fiducial model
5000 = 0.01
= 0.1
4000
l(l + 1)/2 ClTT

3000

2000

1000

0
0 500 1000 1500 2000
l

Landau et al. (IFIBA) unimodular gravity models with diffusion COSMOSUR VI 25-29 April 2022 27 / 27