On the Cosmology and Symmetry of Dilaton-Axion Gravity

A global O$(2,2)$ symmetry is found in the Brans-Dicke theory of gravity when the dilaton is coupled to axion and moduli fields. The symmetry is broken if a cosmological constant is introduced. Within the class of spatially homogeneous Bianchi cosmologies, only the type I and V models respect the symmetry. Isotropic cosmological solutions are found for arbitrary spatial curvature. In the region of parameter space relevant to the pre-big bang scenario, the interplay between the scalar fields results in a bouncing cosmology.