Abstract. We develop a framework that facilitates the study of the causal structure of spacetimes with a causally preferred foliation. Such spacetimes may arise as solutions of Lorentz-violating theories, e.g. Hořava gravity. Our framework allows us to rigorously define concepts such as black/white holes and to formalize the notion of a 'universal horizon', that has been previously introduced in the simpler setting of static and spherically symmetric geometries. We also touch upon the issue of development and prove that universal horizons are Cauchy horizons when evolution depends on boundary data or asymptotic conditions. We establish a local characterisation of universal horizons in stationary configurations. Finally, under the additional assumption of axisymmetry, we examine under which conditions these horizons are cloaked by Killing horizons, which can act like usual event horizons for low-energy excitations.

Bose-Einstein Condensates have been recently proposed as dark matter candidates. In order to characterize the phenomenology associated to such models, we extend previous investigations by studying the general case of a relativistic BEC on a curved background including a non-minimal coupling to curvature. In particular, we discuss the possibility of a two phase cosmological evolution: a cold dark matter-like phase at the large scales/early times and a condensed phase inside dark matter halos. During the first phase dark matter is described by a minimally coupled weakly self-interacting scalar field, while in the second one dark matter condensates and, we shall argue, develops as a consequence the non-minimal coupling. Finally, we discuss how such non-minimal coupling could provide a new mechanism to address cold dark matter paradigm issues at galactic scales.

Hořava gravity has been constructed so as to exhibit anisotropic scaling in the ultraviolet, as this renders the theory power-counting renormalizable. However, when coupled to matter, the theory has been shown to suffer from quadratic divergences. A way to cure these divergences is to add terms with both time and space derivatives. We consider this extended version of the theory in detail. We perform a perturbative analysis that includes all modes, determine the propagators and discuss how including mixed-derivative terms affects them. We also consider the Lifshitz scalar with mixed-derivative terms as a toy model for power counting arguments and discuss the influence of such terms on renormalizability.

The cuscuton is a scalar field with infinite speed of propagation. It was introduced in the context of cosmology but it has also been claimed to resemble Hořava gravity in a certain limit. Here we revisit the cuscuton theory as a Lorentz-violating gravity theory. We clarify its relation with Hořava gravity and Einstein-aether theory, analyze its causal structure, and consider its initial value formulation. Finally, we discuss to which extent the cuscuton theory can be used as a proxy for Hořava gravity in the context of gravitational collapse and formation of universal horizons.