n-DBI Gravity: A Short Overview

Abstract

We present a model of gravity motivated by the Dirac–Born–Infeld type conformal scalar theory it yields when the Universe is conformally flat. We show that, if the Universe is permeated by a perfect fluid of radiation, the theory naturally predicts two eras of accelerated expansion mediated by a radiation dominated epoch, with a large hierarchy between the two effective cosmological constants, thus providing an alternative inflation scenario. This theory, dubbed n-DBI gravity, contains a preferred unit vector field, everywhere time-like, which breaks diffeomorphism invariance and gives rise to an extra scalar degree of freedom. We analyze the dynamics of this mode and conclude that it is free from some of the pathologies found in similar models, namely the issues of vanishing lapse short distance instability and strong coupling. We also show that the standard black holes of General Relativity are solutions of this theory.