No.38 IF Colloquium – Testing Gravity Beyond General Relativity Across Astrophysical Scales

Date: Friday, August 21, 2026 – 01:30 PM
Speaker: Prof. David F. Mota
Venue: Academia Room (TA212), 2nd Floor, Mahadhammaraja A Building

Abstract

Several modifications to General Relativity have been proposed to explain the nature of dark energy and the observed accelerated expansion of the Universe.

In this talk, Prof. David F. Mota will review the current status of these modified gravity theories in light of astrophysical tests that probe gravity in the weak‑field regime, from stellar environments to cosmological scales.

The talk will cover:

• How extensions of General Relativity are expected to behave across different astrophysical systems.
• Key cosmological signatures of modified gravity models.
• A range of observational tests designed to leverage both current and next‑generation datasets to scrutinize deviations from Einsteinian gravity.
• How physical observables in the non-linear regime of structure formation (such as the complex dynamics of galaxies, galaxy clusters, and large-scale structures) provide promising avenues for constraining theoretical models.

Keywords

Modified Gravity • Astrophysical Tests • Cosmological Expansion