Energy Conditions in $f(Q)$ gravity

A complete theory of gravity impels us to go beyond Einstein's General Relativity. One promising approach lies in a new class of teleparallel theory of gravity named $f(Q)$, where the nonmetricity $Q$ is responsible for the gravitational interaction. The important roles any of these alternative theories should obey are the energy condition constraints. Such constraints establish the compatibility of a given theory with the causal and geodesic structure of space-time. In this work, we present a complete test of energy conditions for $f(Q)$ gravity models. The energy conditions allowed us to fix our free parameters, restricting the families of $f(Q)$ models compatible with the accelerated expansion our Universe passes through. Our results straight the viability of $f(Q)$ theory, leading us close to the dawn of a complete theory for gravitation.