Phantom-Like Behavior in $f(R)$-Gravity

Abstract

We investigate possible realization of the phantom-like behavior in the framework of $f(R)$-gravity models where there are no phantom fields in the matter sector of the theory. By adopting some observationally reliable ansatz for $f(R)$, we show that it is possible to realize phantom-like behavior in $f(R)$-gravity without introduction of phantom fields that suffer from instabilities and violation of the null energy condition. Depending on the choice of $f(R)$, the null energy condition is fulfilled in some subspaces of each model parameter space.

14 pages, Revised Version, To appear in PLB