The Dark Side of the Universe: Dark Matter, Dark Energy...

or Modified Gravity? 

Abstract

Do astronomical observations indicate the existence of a matter-energy component which is “dark” or are they just telling us that our laws of gravity break down at large scales? Such question has been raised several times in the last 150 years. In this talk, I give a short historical overview of this issue and the different theoretical solutions that have been put forward to explain the data.  In particular, I go over the observational evidence for dark matter and the possible candidates. Finally, I focus on the present days acceleration of the Universe and the nowadays possible paths to explain it. All in the spirit of the question: Is there really a dark sector or must we go beyond Einstein's General Relativity?

Data: 20 de fevereiro

Hora: 11 h (será servido um pequeno lanche às 10:30 h)

Local: Instituto de Física - Sala 343-A

David Mota 

Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics

University of Oslo