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We investigate first-order vacuum phase transitions in the presence of a non-minimally coupled scalar field starting with the coupling effect on the initial dynamics of phase transitions by defining an effective potential for the scalar field and then performing three dimensional numerical simulations to observe any possible distinction in gravitational wave power spectrum. Although we give a description of the model with the expanding background, in this particular paper, we exclude the scale factor contribution since we primarily focus on the immediate impact of the non-minimal coupling at initial phases of the transition. Even in this case we found that this modification has discernible effect on the power spectrum of the gravitational wave energy density., 18 pages, 8 figures, appendix added, typos corrected, matches with the published version

We numerically examine the exterior solution of spherically symmetric and static configuration in scalar-tensor theories by using the nonminimally coupled scalar field with zero potential as our sample model. Our main purpose in this work is to fit the resulting data of the numerical solutions in the interested region by seeking for approximate analytical expressions which are weakly dependent of the parameters of a model, such as the nonminimal coupling constant in the present case. To this end, we determine the main forms of the mass and the metric functions in terms of the scalar field and their surface values. Then, we provide a function for the scalar field that contains only the mass and the radius of the configuration together with the surface and the asymptotic values of the scalar field. Therefore, we show that the exterior solution can be expressed in a form which does not depend on the parameters of a chosen model up to an order of accuracy around $10^{-5}$., Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures

We consider a universe filled with perfect fluid with the constant equation of state parameter $\omega$. In the theory of scalar perturbations, we study the effect of peculiar velocities on the gravitational potential. For radiation with $\omega=1/3$, we obtain the expression for the gravitational potential in the integral form. Numerical calculation clearly demonstrates the modulation of the gravitational potential by acoustic oscillations due to the presence of peculiar velocities. We also show that peculiar velocities affect the gravitational potential in the case of the frustrated network of cosmic strings with $\omega =-1/3$., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, references added, matches published version

We study the structure of spherically symmetric and static objects in the presence of a nonminimally coupled scalar field having a potential of the form $V(\phi)=-\mu^2\phi^2/2+\lambda\phi^4/4$. We numerically solve equations of the system using two different realistic equations of state for neutron matter and give the mass-radius relations as well as the radial profiles of the scalar field, densities and the mass function for a sample configuration. We show that a specific solution type encountered in such systems causes characteristic neutron star mass-radius relations to turn into the ones belonging to strange quark stars., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures

We study the structure of neutron stars in scalar-tensor theories for the nonminimal coupling of the form $(1+\kappa \xi \phi^{2})\cal R$. We solve the hydrostatic equilibrium equations for two different types of scalar field potentials and three different equations of state representative of different degrees of stiffness. We obtain the mass-radius relations of the configurations and determine the allowed ranges for the term $\xi\phi^2$ at the center of the star and spatial infinity based on the measured maximum value of the mass for neutron stars and the recent constraints on the radius coming from gravitational wave observations. Thus we manage to limit the deviation of the model from general relativity. We examine the possible constraints on the parameters of the model and compare the obtained restrictions with the ones inferred from other cosmological probes that give the allowed ranges for the coupling constant only. In the case of the Higgs-like potential, we also find that the central value for the scalar field cannot be chosen arbitrarily but it depends on the vacuum expectation value of the field. Finally, we discuss the effect of the scalar field potential on the mass and the radius of the star by comparing the results obtained for the cases considered here., Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures; PRD printed

The viability of slow-roll approximation is examined by considering the structure of phase spaces in scalar-tensor theories of gravitation and the analysis is exemplified with a nonminimally coupled scalar field to the spacetime curvature. The slow-roll field equations are obtained in the Jordan frame in two ways: first using the direct generalization of the slow-roll conditions in the minimal coupling case to nonminimal one, and second, conformal transforming the slow-roll field equations in the Einstein frame to the Jordan frame and then applying the generalized slow-roll conditions. Two inflationary models governed by the potentials $V(\phi) \propto \phi^2$ and $V(\phi) \propto \phi^4$ are considered to compare the outcomes of two methods based on the analysis of $n_s$ and $r$ values in the light of recent observational data., Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1504.02192

A five-dimensional cosmological model including a single perfect fluid is studied in the framework of dynamical system analysis. All the critical points of the system with their stability properties are listed and some representative phase diagrams are explicitly shown. It is found that the stabilization of the extra dimension is possible and the observed flatness of the three-dimensional space is provided for certain ranges of the equation of state parameter of the fluid during the evolution of the universe. The model suggested here can be considered as a simplified model for examining the possible effects of the extra dimensions in the early universe., 14 pages, 2 figures; matches the published version

Dynamical system analysis of a universe model which contains matter, radiation, and quintessence with exponential potential, $V \!(\phi)=V_{\!o} \, exp(-\alpha \kappa \phi) \,$, is studied in the light of recent observations and the tensions between different datasets. The three-dimensional phase space is constructed by the energy density parameters and all the critical points of the model with their physical meanings are investigated. This approach provides an easy way of comparing the model directly with the observations. We consider a solution that is compatible with observations and is continuous in the phase space in both directions of time, past and future. Although in many studies of late-time acceleration the radiation is neglected, here we consider all components together and this makes the calculated effective equation of state parameter more realistic. Additionally, a relation between potential parameter, $\alpha$, and the value of quintessence equation of state parameter, $\omega_\phi(t_o)$, today is found by using numerical analysis. We conclude that $\alpha$ has to be small in order to explain the current accelerated phase of the universe and this result can be seen directly from the relation we obtain. Finally, we compare the usual dynamical system approach with the approach that we follow in this paper., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures; matches the published version