Testing gravity across scales: theory, observations, and inference

by Dr Ippocratis Saltas (Czech Academy of Sciences)

Wednesday 11 Feb 2026, 11:00 → 12:00 Europe/Athens

Can General Relativity explain the Universe’s dark sector, or do we need new gravitational physics? Addressing this question requires theoretical rigour based on Effective Field Theory methods, together with observational probes across all accessible cosmic scales.

In this talk, I will present a unified research program combining theory, multi-messenger observations, and advanced inference methods to test fundamental gravity. I will emphasise the interplay between high-energy consistency and low-energy phenomenology, showing how gravitational-wave observations constrain families of gravity theories, how stellar astrophysics probes fifth forces in dense matter environments, and how galactic-scale systems enable novel tests of exotic dark matter candidates. 

I will further discuss how machine learning is transforming our ability to extract fundamental physics from increasingly complex datasets, from inferring the neutron star equation of state to gravitational-wave parameter inference. Finally, I will outline a vision for further strengthening Demokritos’ role as a leading centre in gravitational physics, integrated with major missions including LISA, the Einstein Telescope, LIGO and Euclid.

 

 

Videoconference via     https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82249348474