On the physical consequences of a Weyl invariant theory of gravity

Abstract

In this paper we explore the physical consequences of assuming Weyl invariance of the laws of gravity from the classical standpoint exclusively. Actual Weyl invariance requires to replace the underlying Riemannian geometrical structure of the background spacetimes by Weyl integrable geometry (WIG). We show that gauge freedom, a distinctive feature of Weyl invariant theories of gravity, leads to very unusual consequences. For instance, within the cosmological setting in a WIG-based conformal invariant gravity theory, also known as conformal general relativity (CGR), a static universe is physically equivalent to a universe undergoing de Sitter expansion. It happens also that spherically symmetric black holes are physically equivalent to singularity-free wormholes. Another outstanding consequence of gauge freedom in the framework of CGR is that inflation is not required to explain the flatness, horizon and relict particle abundances, among other puzzles that arise in standard GR-based cosmology. Besides, the cosmological constant and the mass hierarchy problems do not arise neither in this setup.

31 pages, 2 figures. After a 6-years period draft rewritten to a large extent. Aims and scope slightly modified, title changed. Improved physical discussion including the physical implications of gauge freedom. Figures added for better understanding. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1811.02458