We consider the Riemann-Cartan geometry as a basis for the Einstein-Sciama-Kibble theory coupled to spinor fields: we focus on f(R) and conformal gravities, regarding the flag-dipole spinor fields, type-(4) spinor fields under the Lounesto classification. We study such theories in specific cases given, for instance, by cosmological scenarios: we find that in such background the Dirac equation admits solutions that are not Dirac spinor fields, but in fact the aforementioned flag-dipoles ones. These solutions are important from a theoretical perspective, as they evince that spinor fields are not necessarily determined by their dynamics, but also a discussion on their structural (algebraic) properties must be carried off. Furthermore, the phenomenological point of view is shown to be also relevant, since for isotropic Universes they circumvent the question whether spinor fields do undergo the Cosmological Principle.

In this paper we apply the strong deflection limit approach to investigate the gravitational lensing phenomena beyond general relativity. This is accomplished by considering the lensing effects related to black hole solutions that emerge out of the domain of Einstein gravity, namely, the ones acquired from the method of geometric deformation and the Casadio–Fabbri–Mazzacurati (CFM) brane-world black holes. The lensing observables, for those brane-world black hole metrics, are compared with the standard ones for the Schwarzschild case. We prove that brane-world black holes could have significantly different observational signatures, compared to the Schwarzschild black hole, with terms containing the post-Newtonian parameter, for the case of the CFM, and terms with variable brane-world tension, for the method of geometric deformation.