25–29 May 2026
Sofia, Bulgaria
Europe/Sofia timezone

Beyond ΛCDM: Teleparallel Gravity

28 May 2026, 15:10
4m
Sofia, Bulgaria

Sofia, Bulgaria

Institute of Mechanics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IMech-BAS), Acad. Georgi Bonchev St. 4, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria

Speaker

Vasiliki Karanasou (University of Tartu)

Description

The ΛCDM model, based on General Relativity, has successfully explained a wide range of cosmological observations. However, in recent years, several cosmological tensions have emerged and at the same time, the nature of dark matter and dark energy - the latter introduced to explain the accelerated expansion of the Universe - remains unknown. These issues suggest that our current understanding of gravity and cosmology may be incomplete. In this talk, I will briefly present my doctoral research, which explores teleparallel gravity as an alternative formulation of gravity. In General Relativity, gravity is the result of the curvature of spacetime, while in the teleparallel framework, the curvature vanishes and some other geometric quantities (torsion or non-metricity) describe gravity. I will highlight how teleparallel models can reproduce the well-tested predictions of General Relativity while simultaneously offering new ways to explain the accelerated expansion of the Universe and address the cosmological tensions.

Author

Vasiliki Karanasou (University of Tartu)

Presentation materials