We develop the general scheme for modified $f(R)$ gravity reconstruction from any realistic Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) cosmology. We formulate several versions of modified gravity compatible with solar system tests where the following sequence of cosmological epochs occurs: (a) matter dominated phase (with or without usual matter), transition from deceleration to acceleration, accelerating epoch consistent with recent WMAP data, (b) $\Lambda \mathrm{CDM}$ cosmology without cosmological constant. As a rule, such modified gravities are expressed implicitly (in terms of special functions) with late-time asymptotics of known type (for instance, the model with negative and positive powers of curvature). In the alternative approach, it is demonstrated that even simple versions of modified gravity may lead to the unification of matter dominated and accelerated phases at the price of the introduction of compensating dark energy.

• Received 4 September 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.74.086005