Related papers: The Duhem-Quine thesis and the dark matter problem
Dark matter is one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in cosmology at the present time. About 80% of the universe's gravitating matter is non-luminous, and its nature and distribution are for the most part unknown. In this paper, we will…
In this paper, we argue that there are foundational dilemmas in theoretical physics related to the concept of reality and the nature of mathematics in physics. Physical theory is treated as a conceptual organism which develops under the…
The quest for the elusive dark matter (DM) that permeates the Universe (and in general the search for signatures of Physics beyond the Standard Model at astronomical scales) provides a unique opportunity and a tough challenge to the…
Newtonian mechanics indicates that galaxies and galaxy clusters are much more massive than we would have guessed from their luminosities, with the discrepancy being generally attributed to dark matter halos. An alternative hypothesis is…
It is still a challenging problem to the theoretical physicists to know the exact nature of the galactic dark matter which causes the galactic rotational velocity to be more or less a constant. We have proposed that the dark matter as an…
Dark energy is an elusive concept, which has been introduced two decades ago in order to make the acceleration of the universe a comprehensible phenomenon. However, the nature of this energy is far from being understood, both from a…
It is always more evident that the kinematics of galaxies provide us with unique information on the Nature of the dark particles and on the properties of the galaxy Dark Matter (DM) halos. However, in investigating this topic, we have to be…
General Relativity is not the definitive theory of Gravitation due to several shortcomings which are coming out both from theoretical and experimental viewpoints. At large scales (astrophysical and cosmological scales) the attempts to match…
In this thesis, we investigate some aspects of dark matter phenomenology and its predictive power in explaining the flattening of galaxy rotation curves at large distances. After outlining the Standard Model of particle physics, its…
Gravity is specifically the attractive force between two masses separated at a distance. Is this force a derived or a fundamental interaction? We believe that all fundamental interactions are quantum in nature but a derived interaction may…
Although various pieces of indirect evidence about the nature of dark matter have been collected, its direct detection has eluded experimental searches despite extensive effort. If the mass of dark matter is below 1 MeV, it is essentially…
The cosmological constant problem is principally concerned with trying to understand how the zero-point energy of quantum fields contributes to gravity. Here we take the approach that by addressing a fundamental unresolved issue in quantum…
We review the underpinnings of the standard Newton-Einstein theory of gravity, and identify where it could possibly go wrong. In particular, we discuss the logical independence from each other of the general covariance principle, the…
The identity of dark matter is a question of central importance in both astrophysics and particle physics. In the past, the leading particle candidates were cold and collisionless, and typically predicted missing energy signals at particle…
One of the main activities in science teaching, and in particular in Physics teaching, is not only the discussion of both modern problems and problems which solution is an urgent matter. It means that the picture of an active and alive…
Questioning the experimental basis of continuous descriptions of fundamental interactions we discuss classical gravity as an effective continuous first-order approximation of a discrete interaction. The sub-dominant contributions produce a…
We know that the generally accepted theories of gravity and quantum mechanics are fundamentally incompatible. Thus, when we try to combine these theories, we must beware of physical pitfalls. Modern theories of quantum gravity are trying to…
While observational cosmology has recently progressed fast, it revealed a serious dilemma called dark energy: an unknown source of exotic energy with negative pressure driving a current accelerating phase of the universe. All attempts so…
Well known scaling laws among the structural properties of the dark and the luminous matter in disc systems are too complex to be arisen by two inert components that just share the same gravitational field. This brings us to critically…
We review the features of Dark Matter as a particle, presenting some old and new instructive models, and looking for their physical implications in the early universe and in the process of structure formation. We also present a schematic of…