The Fate of Tensor-Vector-Scalar Modified Gravity

The 2017 codetection of electromagnetic radiation and gravitational waves was the first of its kind and marked the beginning of multimessenger astronomy. But this event has been treated within recent literature as something of an end as well. The 2017 detection is often regarded as an instance of falsification for all theories of modified gravity which postulate gravitational waves propagate along separate geodesics from electromagnetic radiation, perhaps most notably Jacob Bekenstein's Tensor-Vector-Scalar gravity (TeVeS). I critically examine this explicit endorsement of falsification by astronomers and astrophysicists. While the current state of multimetric modified gravity theories is dim, recent developments in multimessenger observation do not offer a deductive falsification. Rather such evidence should be regarded as a corroboration of the null hypothesis, following Deborah Mayo's (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2018) error-statistical account.

Automated summary

The 2017 codetection of electromagnetic radiation and gravitational waves marked the beginning of multimessenger astronomy but has also been treated as an end in recent literature. The detection has often been considered a falsification of modified gravity theories, yet this endorsement of falsification is critically examined. While the current state of multimetric modified gravity theories is not promising, recent developments in multimessenger observation do not offer deductive falsification.