Modified Gravity Theories and Applications of Gravitational Lensing

• Grant number: 10/09800-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: October 01, 2010
• End date: February 28, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Astronomy - Extragalactic Astrophysics
• Principal Investigator: Laerte Sodré Junior
• Grantee: Marcos Vinicius Borges Teixeira Lima
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Understanding cosmic acceleration is one of the main tasks of modern cosmology. Possibilities for explaining this acceleration range from a cosmological constant to modifications in theories of gravity, and will be investigated by different observations made in various surveys in the next few years. In this project, we investigate two relevant aspects in the search for fundamental explanations to this problem. We broaden studies of modified gravity with use of N-body cosmological simulations. Furthermore, we study some relevant effects of gravitational lensing in a cosmological context. Such effects become ever closer to observational reach in face of galaxy surveys planned for the near future, some of which will have significant participation of brazilian scientists.