Constraining massive gravity with recent cosmological data
  A covariant formulation of a theory with a massive graviton and no negative
energy state has been recently proposed as an alternative to the usual General
Relativity framework. For a spatially flat homogenous and isotropic universe,
the theory introduces modified Friedmann equations where the standard matter
term is supplemented by four effective fluids mimicking dust, cosmological
constant, quintessence and stiff matter, respectively. We test the viability of
this massive gravity formulation by contrasting its theoretical prediction to
the Hubble diagram as traced by Type Ia Supernovae (SNeIa) and Gamma Ray Bursts
(GRBs), the $H(z)$ measurements from passively evolving galaxies, Baryon
Acoustic Oscillations (BAOs) from galaxy surveys and the distance priors from
the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) anisotropy spectrum. It turns
out that the model is indeed able to very well fit this large dataset thus
offering a viable alternative to the usual dark energy framework. We finally
set stringent constraints on its parameters also narrowing down the allowed
range for the graviton mass.
