Related papers: Fifth force constraints from galaxy warps
Observations of redshift-space distortions in spectroscopic galaxy surveys offer an attractive method for observing the build-up of cosmological structure. In this paper we develop and test a new statistic based on anisotropies in the…
The dynamics of globular cluster systems (GCSs) around galaxies are often used to assess the total enclosed mass, and even to constrain the dark matter distribution. The globular cluster system of a galaxy is typically assumed to be in…
A new method is developed to calculate the amplitude of the galactic warps generated by a torque due to external forces. This takes into account that the warp is produced as a reorientation of the different rings which constitute the disc…
We introduce a method to quantify the quality-of-fit between data and observables depending on the large scale Galactic magnetic field. We combine WMAP5 polarized synchrotron data and Rotation Measures of extragalactic sources in a joint…
Weak shear maps of the outer regions of clusters have been successfully used to map the distribution of mass at large radii from the cluster center. The typical smoothing lengths employed thus far preclude the systematic study of the…
(abridged) A wide-field galaxy redshift survey allows one to probe galaxy clustering at largest spatial scales, which carries an invaluable information on horizon-scale physics complementarily to the cosmic microwave background (CMB).…
This thesis introduces a set of methods for testing models of modified gravity using galaxy clusters. In particular, a technique for constraining models with a chameleon screening is introduced. In addition, the outlined technique is…
Cluster strong lensing cosmography is a promising probe of the background geometry of the Universe and several studies have emerged, thanks to the increased quality of observations using space and ground-based telescopes. For the first…
Dark compact objects ("clumps") transiting the Solar System exert accelerations on the test masses (TM) in a gravitational-wave (GW) detector. We reexamine the detectability of these clump transits in a variety of current and future GW…
The redshift distribution of galaxy lenses in known gravitational lens systems provides a powerful test that can potentially discriminate amongst cosmological models. However, applications of this elegant test have been curtailed by two…
Approximately half of all disc galaxies exhibit appreciable warps in both their stellar and HI discs. The typical warp amplitude is small (a few degrees), and only becomes noticeable at the periphery of the galaxy disc. As a result, warps…
Gravitational waves astronomy has opened a new opportunity to study the Universe. Full exploitation of this window can especially be provided by combining data coming from gravitational waves experiments with luminous tracers of the Large…
One of the most powerful techniques to study the dark sector of the Universe is weak gravitational lensing. In practice, to infer the reduced shear, weak lensing measures galaxy shapes, which are the consequence of both the intrinsic…
Modifications to General Relativity typically introduce a scalar degree of freedom. Experimental constraints require that the "fifth" force produced by this field must be screened in high density environments. An important consequence of…
Observations of clusters of galaxies that gravitationally lens faint background galaxies can probe the amount and the equation of state, $\5$, of the dark energy (quintessence) in the universe. Provided that the mass profile and the mass…
New fifth forces have not yet been detected in the laboratory or in the solar system, hence it is typically difficult to introduce new light scalar fields that would mediate such forces. In recent years it has been shown that a number of…
One of the main problems of observational cosmology is to determine the range in which a reliable measurement of galaxy correlations is possible. This corresponds to determine the shape of the correlation function, its possible evolution…
The discovery of massive, high redshift galaxies with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been argued to challenge $\Lambda$CDM (cold dark matter): such systems would require extremely rare halos and baryon-to-stellar-mass conversion…
A long-range force acting only in the dark sector can displace the stellar component of satellite galaxies relative to their dark matter (DM) halos, thereby \emph{breaking} the weak equivalence principle (WEP) between DM and baryons. We…
Comparisons between observed and predicted strong lensing properties of galaxy clusters have been routinely used to claim either tension or consistency with $\Lambda$CDM cosmology. However, standard approaches to such cosmological tests are…