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Understanding the reason for the observed accelerated expansion of the Universe represents one of the fundamental open questions in physics. In cosmology, a classification has emerged among physical models for the acceleration,…
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…
The mass of a scalar field mediating a fifth force is tightly constrained by experiments. We show, however, that adding a quartic self-interaction for such a scalar makes most tests much less constraining: the non-linear equation of motion…
The recent discovery of "dark energy" has challenged Einstein's general theory of relativity as a complete model for our macroscopic universe. From a theoretical view, the challenge is even stronger: general relativity clearly does not…
We discuss the possibility of exploring an unbroken U(1) gauge interaction in the dark sector by means of gravitational waves. Dark sector states charged under the dark force can give a macroscopic charge to astronomical bodies. Yet the…
Explanations of the late-time cosmic acceleration within the framework of general relativity are plagued by difficulties. General relativistic models are mostly based on a dark energy field with fine-tuned, unnatural properties. There is a…
Neutron stars and black holes are the astrophysical systems with the strongest gravitational fields in the universe. In this article, I review the prospect of probing with observations of such compact objects some of the most intriguing…
Theories that attempt to explain the observed cosmic acceleration by modifying general relativity all introduce a new scalar degree of freedom that is active on large scales, but is screened on small scales to match experiments. We show…
Spectroscopic methods allow to measure energy differences with unrivaled precision. In the case of gravity resonance spectroscopy, energy differences of different gravitational states are measured without recourse to the electromagnetic…
It has been suggested that Einstein's theory of General Relativity can be modified to accomodate mismatches between the gravitational field and luminous matter on a wide range of scales. Covariant theories of modified gravity generically…
The strongest evidence for dark energy comes presently from geometric techniques such as the supernova distance-redshift relation. By combining the measured expansion history with the Friedmann equation one determines the energy density and…
In the pursuit of a general formulation for a modified gravitational theory at the non-relativistic level and as an alternative to the dark matter hypothesis, we construct a model valid over a wide variety of astrophysical scales. Through…
Modified gravity theories are a popular alternative to dark energy as a possible explanation for the observed accelerating cosmic expansion, and their cosmological tests are currently an active research field. Studies in recent years have…
The best laboratory constraints on strongly coupled chameleon fields come not from tests of gravity per se but from precision measurements of the Casimir force. The chameleonic force between two nearby bodies is more akin to a Casimir-like…
Atom and matter interferometers are precise quantum sensing experiments that can probe differential forces along separated spacetime paths. Various atom and matter interferometer experiments have been proposed to study dark matter,…
Extending general relativity by adding extra degrees of freedom is a popular approach for explaining the accelerated expansion of the Universe and to build high energy completions of the theory of gravity. The presence of such new degrees…
Quantum technologies are opening novel avenues for applied and fundamental science at an impressive pace. In this perspective article, we focus on the promises coming from the combination of quantum technologies and space science to test…
We report a measurement of the local acceleration $g$ with ultracold neutrons based on quantum states in the gravity potential of the Earth. The new method uses resonant transitions between the states $|1> -> |3>$ and for the first time…
More recently, the ALPHA-g experiment has shown that antiatoms fall in the Earth's gravitational field like ordinary atoms, with the non-negligible possibility that antiatoms fall with a slightly lower acceleration. A possible lower…
We study signatures of macroscopic dark matter (DM) in current and future gravitational wave (GW) experiments. Transiting DM with a mass of $\sim10^5-10^{15}$ kg that saturates the local DM density can be potentially detectable by GW…