We analyze the cosmological perturbations valid in a broad class of generalized gravity theories in a unified manner. A complete set of perturbation equations is derived in gauge-ready forms. We present general asymptotic solutions for several different choices of the gauge conditions in unified forms. As in the case of Einstein's gravity, the uniform-curvature gauge is particularly simple for treating the scalar-type perturbations in generalized gravity theories involving the scalar field and the scalar curvature. Remarkably, considering the growing mode in the uniform-curvature gauge, the same solutions derived in Einstein's gravity remain valid in a broad class of generalized gravity theories.

• Received 10 January 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.54.1460