LHC and gravity

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Michael Krämer; Professor Dr. Dennis Lehmkuhl
• Subject Area: Theoretical Philosophy ; Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Relativity, Fields
• Term: from 2016 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 234743567

Astrophysical observations and explanatory gaps in the standard model of particle physics imply the existence of dark matter and/or a modification of our theory of gravity, space and time. A decision between the dark matter (DM) and modified gravity (MG) approaches is hampered by problems of underdetermination at different levels and of different kinds. In order to specify these problems, we shall continue to analyse in detail the landscape of dark matter and modified gravity models, and the interplay between research in particle physics, astrophysics, and gravity. The plethora of DM and MG approaches, and the corresponding underdetermination, even in the light of the vast amount of relevant collider-based and astrophysical observations, clearly illustrates the complexity of this scientific problem. On the other hand, the overlap of the collider and astrophysical domains may allow for a reduction of the underdetermination, thus leading to a simplification of the model landscape. Our focus will be on dark matter models that can be probed at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the connection between LHC results and theories of gravity. We address the question of different kinds of underdetermination, both in choosing between the two research programs of dark matter and modified gravity, and also in choosing between different models within each program. In particular, we shall provide an assessment of the explanatory power and the explanatory gaps of the dark matter and modified gravity hypotheses, and of the tenability of a strict conceptual distinction between dark matter and modified gravity in the first place. This latter assessment continues one of the main results of the first phase of this project, during which we focused on several specific models that call such a distinction into question.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 2063: The Epistemology of the Large Hadron Collider
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Erhard Scholz