Moffat’s modified gravity tested on X-COP galaxy clusters

Abstract

Abstract Scalar tensor vector gravity (STVG) is a fully covariant Lorentz invariant alternative theory of gravity also known as MOdified Gravity (MOG) which modifies General Relativity by inclusion of dynamical massive vector field and scalar fields. In STVG the mass $$\mu $$ μ of the vector field $$\phi _{\mu }$$ ϕ μ and the gravitational constant G acquire the status of dynamical fields. We use the reconstructed total cluster mass of the X-COP sample obtained from X-ray observations by XMM-Newton telescope in combination with Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) effect observed within Planck all-sky survey to estimate the $$ \alpha $$ α and $$\mu $$ μ parameters of MOG theory. The obtained values are consistent with previous fits by other authors. Hence the MOG is passing another test and proves its consistency strengthening thereby its stance of being a promising alternative to General Relativity.