Gravitational induced particle production through a nonminimal curvature-matter coupling

Understand

We consider the possibility of a gravitationally induced particle production through the mechanism of a nonminimal curvature-matter coupling.

• An interesting feature of this gravitational theory is that the divergence of the energy-momentum tensor is nonzero.
• As a first step in our study we reformulate the model in terms of an equivalent scalar-tensor theory, with two arbitrary potentials.
• By using the formalism of open thermodynamic systems, we interpret the energy balance equations in this gravitational theory from a thermodynamic point of view, as describing irreversible matter creation processes.