6+1 lessons from f(R) gravity

Abstract

There has been a recent stimulus in the study of alternative theories of gravity lately, mostly triggered from combined motivation coming from cosmology/astrophysics and high energy physics. Among the proposed theories, one that has attracted much attention is f(R) gravity. It is certainly debatable whether such a simplistic modification of General Relativity can constitute a viable alternative theory of gravitation. However, it is quite straightforward to see the merits of such a theory when viewed as a toy theory whose role is to help us understand the implications and difficulties of beyond-Einstein gravity. Under this perspective, I review some of the main lessons we seem to have learned from the study of f(R) gravity in the recent past.