Asymptotic behavior of cosmological models in scalar-tensor theories of gravity - art. no. 023507.

We study the qualitative properties of cosmological models in scalar-tensor theories of gravity by exploiting the formal equivalence of these theories with general relativity minimally coupled to a scalar field under a confor mal transformation and field redefinition. In particular, we investigate th e asymptotic behavior of spatially homogeneous cosmological models in a cla ss of scalar-tensor theories which are conformally equivalent to general re lativistic Bianchi cosmologies with a scalar field and an exponential poten tial whose qualitative features have been studied previously. Particular at tention is focused on those scalar-tensor theory cosmological models, which are shown to be self-similar, that correspond to general relativistic mode ls that play an important role in describing the asymptotic behavior of mor e general models (e.g., those cosmological models that act as early-time an d late-time attractors). [S0556-2821(98)03222-6].