https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2018-12213-9
Regular Article
On the equivalence of Jordan and Einstein frames in scale-invariant gravity
1
Department of Physics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, 38123, Trento, Italy
2
TIFPA - INFN, Via Sommarive 14, 38123, Trento, Italy
* e-mail: massimiliano.rinaldi@unitn.it
Received:
19
August
2018
Accepted:
24
August
2018
Published online:
11
October
2018
In this paper we consider the issue of the classical equivalence of scale-invariant gravity in the Einstein and in the Jordan frames. We first consider the simplest example 
and show explicitly that the equivalence breaks down when dealing with Ricci-flat solutions. We discuss the link with the fact that flat solutions in quadratic gravity have zero energy. We also consider the case of scale-invariant tensor-scalar gravity and general f(R) theories. We argue that all scale-invariant gravity models have Ricci flat solutions in the Jordan frame that cannot be mapped into the Einstein frame. In particular, the Minkowski metric exists only in the Jordan frame. In this sense, the two frames are not equivalent.
© Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature, 2018
