What does this research mean for the field?

The Finite-Scale Theory (FST) of gravity outperforms established models like MOND and NFW in explaining the dynamics of spiral galaxies, particularly those with a velocity-scale parameter v₀ > 150 km s⁻¹, although NFW remains the best-fitting model for most early-type galaxies. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to compare the Finite-Scale Theory of gravity with traditional models using galaxy data.

May 19, 2026Open Access

Finite-Scale Theory of Gravity in Galaxy Dynamics: A Comparative Analysis of Spiral and Early- Type Galaxies

Key Points

This research aims to compare the Finite-Scale Theory of gravity with traditional models using galaxy data.
Systematic comparison using 175 spiral galaxies from the SPARC database and 73 early-type galaxies from the ATLAS3D survey.
Model comparison conducted via Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) for rotation curves and velocity dispersion profiles.
Statistical performance evaluated based on win rates of different gravity models.
FST achieved a 46.3% win rate (81/175) for spiral galaxies, outperforming MOND (26.3%) and LCDM (27.4%).
For early-type galaxies, NFW is the best model in 89% (65/73), while FST succeeded in 11% (8/73).
Among galaxies with v₀ > 150 km s⁻¹, FST has a ~67% win rate, consistent with SPARC results suggesting a trend needing further validation.

Abstract

We present a systematic comparison of the Finite-Scale Theory (FST) of gravity against established models—baryonic-only, Modified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND), and Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) dark matter—using two complementary galaxy samples: 175 spiral galaxies from the SPARC database (rotation curves) and 73 early-type galaxies with independently measured distances from the ATLAS3D survey (velocity dispersion profiles). Model comparison is performed via the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). For SPARC spirals, FST achieves a 46.3% win rate (81/175), significantly outperforming MOND (26.3%) and LCDM (27.4%), with 18.3% of galaxies showing strong statistical preference (ΔBIC > 2). For the 73 ATLAS3D early-type galaxies with real parameters, NFW is the best model in 89% of galaxies (65/73), while FST wins in only 11% (8/73). However, a critical velocity-scale parameter v₀ emerges as a decisive discriminator: among the 6 galaxies with v₀ > 150 km s⁻¹, FST wins ~67% (4/6). This is consistent with SPARC results where v₀ > 150 km s⁻¹ yields ~80% FST win rate, but the small sample size (6 galaxies, 8.2% of the 73-galaxy sample) means this should be interpreted as a qualitative trend requiring confirmation rather than a statistically robust result.

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