CLASH-VLT: The Fifth Force in Chameleon Gravity from Joint Lensing and Kinematics Cluster Mass Profiles

We present a high-precision joint gravitational-lensing and kinematic analysis of nine massive galaxy clusters from the CLASH and CLASH-VLT surveys to test chameleon screening gravity and its f(R) sub-class at Mpc scales. We investigate the dependence on the assumed parametrization of the total cluster mass profile by adopting three models, namely Navarro–Frenk–White (NFW), Burkert, and Hernquist. When cuspy models (NFW or Hernquist) are assumed in the general chameleon framework, the combined constraints from the nine clusters are fully consistent with General Relativity (GR), excluding large regions of the modified-gravity parameter space (the coupling constant Q and the background chameleon field ϕ∞), providing one of the tightest bounds on general chameleon models with clusters to date. In contrast, adopting a Burkert profile—disfavored by lensing data—leads to a mild (∼2σ) departure from the GR expectation in joint analysis. When considering the f(R) sub-case, we obtain a bound on the background scalaron field of |fR| ≲ 2−5 × 10−5 (95% C.L.) for NFW and Hernquist models, in agreement with current constraints at cosmological scales, and an apparent deviation from standard gravity of log10|fR|=−4.7±1.2 for the Burkert case. We investigate the impact of systematics in the kinematical analysis, showing that the tension is mitigated when clusters exhibiting clear dynamical disturbance are excluded from the sample. Our results show that galaxy clusters provide competitive tests of screened modified gravity at mega-parsec scales, while highlighting the critical role of accurate mass modeling and dynamical-state assessment. The upcoming generation of wide-field lensing surveys and spectroscopic follow-up programs will enable similar analyses on substantially larger samples, offering the prospect of tightening cluster-based constraints on gravity and the dark sector.