Modified Gravity and Dark Matter at the Scale of Galaxies

Dear Colleagues,

In the 1970s, V. C. Rubin and W. K. Ford confirmed the flatness of rotation curves, leading to the conclusion that galaxies are embedded in massive dark halos that extend to large radii. In the last fifty years, dark matter has been established as one of the main components of the Universe.  It is the second most important component, driving the emergence of large-scale structures. Nevertheless, its fundamental nature is still completely unknown.

Although the cold dark matter paradigm successfully explains both the emergence and evolution of cosmic structures on large scales, it faces persistent challenges on the scales of galaxies that are primarily related to dark matter distribution in the innermost regions of the halos of galaxies and to the dynamic properties of dwarf galaxies. There are three possible origins: (1) the baryonic physics that affect galaxy formation; (2) dark matter differs from the conventional cold dark matter; and (3) the theory of gravity departs from that of general relativity. Solving these discrepancies is a rapidly evolving research field.

The aim of this Special Issue is to focus on the kinematic and dynamic probes that stellar systems and galaxies offer in order to test the dark matter paradigm and the underlying theory of gravity. Contributions to this issue may be related to alternative paradigms (for instance, warm dark matter, self-interacting dark matter, fuzzy dark matter, and axions, among others), detection strategies, N-body simulations and data analysis methods, modified gravity models that modify the dynamics at the scale of galaxies, dynamical and kinematical probes of dark matter and modified gravity at the scale of stellar system and galaxies, recent discoveries confirming or questioning the standard paradigm, and reviews on the state-of-the-art of the field.

Dr. Ivan De Martino
Prof. Dr. Mahmood Roshan
Guest Editors

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