<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>f</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mo>(</mml:mo><mml:mi>R</mml:mi><mml:mo>)</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:mrow></mml:math>theories of gravity

Abstract

Modified gravity theories have received increased attention lately due to combined motivation coming from high-energy physics, cosmology, and astrophysics. Among numerous alternatives to Einstein's theory of gravity, theories that include higher-order curvature invariants, and specifically the particular class of $f(R)$ theories, have a long history. In the last five years there has been a new stimulus for their study, leading to a number of interesting results. Here $f(R)$ theories of gravity are reviewed in an attempt to comprehensively present their most important aspects and cover the largest possible portion of the relevant literature. All known formalisms are presented---metric, Palatini, and metric affine---and the following topics are discussed: motivation; actions, field equations, and theoretical aspects; equivalence with other theories; cosmological aspects and constraints; viability criteria; and astrophysical applications.