Observational signatures of Jordan-Brans-Dicke theories of gravity

We analyze the Jordan-Brans-Dicke model (JBD) of gravity, where deviations from general relativity (GR) are described by a scalar field non-minimally coupled to the graviton. The theory is characterized by a constant coupling parameter, omega(JBD); GR is recovered in the limit omega(JBD) -> infinity. In such theories, gravity modi. cations manifest at early times, so one cannot rely on the usual approach of looking for inconsistencies in the expansion history and perturbation growth in order to discriminate between JBD and GR. However, we show that a similar technique can be successfully applied to early and late time observables instead. Cosmological parameters inferred extrapolating early time observations to the present will match those recovered from direct late time observations only if the correct gravity theory is used. We use the primary cosmic microwave background, as will be seen by the Planck satellite, as the early time observable; and forthcoming and planned supernovae, baryonic acoustic oscillations and weak lensing experiments as late time observables. We find that detection of values of omega(JBD) as large as 500 and 1000 is within reach of the upcoming (2010) and next-generation (2020) experiments, respectively.