preprints.org > physical sciences > astronomy and astrophysics > doi: 10.20944/preprints202402.0041.v1

Preprint Review Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Version 1 : Received: 31 January 2024 / Approved: 1 February 2024 / Online: 1 February 2024 (12:55:19 CET)

If visible matter alone is present in the Universe, General Relativity (GR) and its Newtonian weak field limit cannot explain several pieces of evidence, from the largest to the smallest scales. The most investigated solution is the cosmological model ΛCDM, where GR is valid and two dark components are introduced, dark energy and dark matter, to explain the ∼70% and ∼25% of the mass-energy budget of the Universe, respectively. An alternative approach is provided by modified gravity theories, where a departure of the gravity law from ΛCDM is assumed and no dark components are included. This work presents refracted gravity (RG), a modified theory of gravity formulated in a classical way where the presence of DM is mimicked by a gravitational permittivity ϵ(ρ) monotonically increasing with the local mass density ρ, which causes the field lines to be refracted in small density environments. Specifically, the flatter the system the stronger the refraction effect and, thus, the larger the mass discrepancy if interpreted in Newtonian gravity. RG presented several encouraging results in modelling the dynamics of disk and elliptical galaxies and the temperature profiles of the hot X-ray emitting gas in galaxy clusters and a covariant extension of the theory seems to be promising.

modified gravity; dark matter; galaxy dynamics; acceleration scale; scaling relations; galaxy clusters; cosmology

Physical Sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics

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