The field equations for scalar–tensor–vector gravity (STVG) or modified gravity (MOG) have a static, spherically symmetric black hole solution determined by the mass \(M\) with two horizons. The strength of the gravitational constant is \(G=G_N(1+\alpha )\) where \(\alpha \) is a parameter. A regular singularity-free MOG solution is derived using a nonlinear field dynamics for the repulsive gravitational field component and a reasonable physical energy-momentum tensor. The Kruskal–Szekeres completion of the MOG black hole solution is obtained. The Kerr-MOG black hole solution is determined by the mass \(M\) , the parameter \(\alpha \) and the spin angular momentum \(J=Ma\) . The equations of motion and the stability condition of a test particle orbiting the MOG black hole are derived, and the radius of the black hole photosphere and the shadows cast by the Schwarzschild-MOG and Kerr-MOG black holes are calculated. A traversable wormhole solution is constructed with a throat stabilized by the repulsive component of the gravitational field.

The shadows cast by non-rotating and rotating modified gravity black holes are determined by the two parameters mass \(M\) and angular momentum \(J=Ma\) . The sizes of the shadows cast by the spherically symmetric static modified gravity–Schwarzschild and modified gravity–Kerr rotating black holes increase significantly as the free parameter \(\alpha \) is increased from zero. The Event Horizon Telescope shadow image measurements can determine whether Einstein’s general relativity is correct or whether it should be modified in the presence of strong gravitational fields.

Einstein gravity coupled to a massive skew symmetric field F_{\mu\nu\lambda} leads to an acceleration law that modifies the Newtonian law of attraction between particles. We use a framework of non-perturbative renormalization group equations as well as observational input to characterize special renormalization group trajectories to allow for the running of the effective gravitational coupling G and the coupling of the skew field to matter. The latter lead to an increase of Newton's constant at large galactic and cosmological distances. For weak fields a fit to the flat rotation curves of galaxies is obtained in terms of the mass (mass-to-light ratio M/L) of galaxies. The fits assume that the galaxies are not dominated by exotic dark matter and that the effective gravitational constant G runs with distance scale. The equations of motion for test particles yield predictions for the solar system and the binary pulsar PSR 1913+16 that agree with the observations. The gravitational lensing of clusters of galaxies can be explained without exotic dark matter. An FLRW cosmological model with an effective G=G(t) running with time can lead to consistent fits to cosmological data without assuming the existence of exotic cold dark matter.

We introduce an extension of the Standard Model and General Relativity built upon the principle of local conformal invariance, which represents a generalization of a previous work by Bars, Steinhardt and Turok. This is naturally realized by adopting as a geometric framework a particular class of non-Riemannian geometries, first studied by Weyl. The gravitational sector is enriched by a scalar and a vector field. The latter has a geometric origin and represents the novel feature of our approach. We argue that physical scales could emerge from a theory with no dimensionful parameters, as a result of the spontaneous breakdown of conformal and electroweak symmetries. We study the dynamics of matter fields in this modified gravity theory and show that test particles follow geodesics of the Levi-Civita connection, thus resolving an old criticism raised by Einstein against Weyl’s original proposal.

We consider the case of rotating black holes in a dark-matter-emulating theory of gravity called MOG. The latter introduces a gravitational vector field with an associated gravitational charge proportional to the black hole mass and a scalar field in place of the gravitational constant. The resulting black hole metrics resemble the Kerr-Newman geometry and enjoy superradiant scattering. MOG, however, presents important new features. By studying the scattering of a scalar field, we show that there is a marked reduction of the critical frequency of mode amplification. This corresponds to saying that the superradiance peak frequency is red shifted. Analyses of the reflected energy flux also show that MOG black holes are fainter with respect to the standard ones. The proposed results pave the way for testing MOG against astronomical observations.