Phenomenological signatures of gauge invariant theories of gravity with vectorial nonmetricity

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss on the phenomenological footprints of gauge invariant theories of gravity where the gravitational effects are due not only to spacetime curvature, but also to vectorial nonmetricity. We explore the possibility that vectorial nonmetricity and gauge symmetry may survive after $SU(2)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}U(1)$ (electroweak) symmetry breaking, so that these may have impact on the explanation of certain cosmological puzzles, such as the nature of the dark matter and of the dark energy. We show that this is possible only for theories with gradient nonmetricity, i.e., when the vectorial nonmetricity amounts to a gradient of a scalar. The possibility that vectorial nonmetricity may have played a role in the quantum epoch is not ruled out. We also present an alternative interpretation of gauge invariance of theories with vectorial nonmetricity, which we call the ``many-worlds'' interpretation due to its overall similitude with the known interpretation of quantum physics.