A unified universe

Abstract We present a unified evolution of the universe from very early times until the present epoch by including both the leading local correction $$R^2$$ R2 and the leading non-local term $$R\frac{1}{\square ^2}R$$ R1□2R to the classical gravitational action. We find that the inflationary phase driven by $$R^2$$ R2 term gracefully exits in a transitory regime characterized by coherent oscillations of the Hubble parameter. The universe then naturally enters into a radiation dominated epoch followed by a matter dominated era. At sufficiently late times after radiation–matter equality, the non-local term starts to dominate inducing an accelerated expansion of the universe at the present epoch. We further exhibit the fact that both the leading local and non-local terms can be obtained within the covariant effective field theory of gravity. This scenario thus provides a unified picture of inflation and dark energy in a single framework by means of a purely gravitational action without the usual need of a scalar field.