Objective General relativity, Einstein's celebrated theory, has been very successful as a theory of the gravitational interaction. However, within the course of the last decades several issues have been pointed out as indicating its limitations: the inevitable existence of spacetime singularities and the fact that it is not a renormalizable theory manifest as shortcomings at very small scales. The inability of the theory to explain the late time accelerated expansion of the universe or the rotational curves of galaxies without the need of unobserved, mysterious forms of matter/energy can be interpreted as shortcomings at large scales. These riddles make gravity by far the most enigmatic of interactions nowadays. Therefore, the understanding of gravity beyond general relativity seems to be more pertinent than ever.We propose to address this difficult issue by considering a synthetic approach towards the understand of the limitations of general relativity and the study of phenomenology which is usually considered to be outsides its realm. The proposed directions include, but are not limited to: the study of quantum gravity candidates and their phenomenology; extensions or modifications of general relativity which may address renormalizability issues or cosmological observations; explorations of fundamental principles of general relativity and the possible violation of such principles; the study of the implications of deviations from Einstein's theory for astrophysics and cosmology and the possible ways to constrain such deviations; and the study of effects within the framework of general relativity which lie at the limit of its validity as a gravity theory. The deeper understanding of each of these issues will provide an important piece to the puzzle. The synthesis of this pieces is most likely to significantly aid our understanding of gravity, and this is our ultimate goal. Fields of science natural sciencesphysical sciencesrelativistic mechanics Programme(s) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) ERC-SG-PE2 - ERC Starting Grant - Fundamental constituents of matter Call for proposal ERC-2012-StG_20111012 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant Coordinator THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM Address University park NG7 2RD Nottingham United Kingdom See on map Region East Midlands (England) Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Nottingham Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Principal investigator Thomas Sotiriou (Dr.) Administrative Contact Jill Burton (Ms.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window EU contribution € 1 222 436,55 Beneficiaries (2) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM United Kingdom EU contribution € 1 222 436,55 Address University park NG7 2RD Nottingham See on map Region East Midlands (England) Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Nottingham Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Principal investigator Thomas Sotiriou (Dr.) Administrative Contact Jill Burton (Ms.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window SCUOLA INTERNAZIONALE SUPERIORE DI STUDI AVANZATI DI TRIESTE Italy EU contribution € 152 789,45 Address Via bonomea 265 34136 Trieste See on map Region Nord-Est Friuli-Venezia Giulia Trieste Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Gabriele Rizzetto (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window
