One of the most successful theory describing cosmic objects, their interactions and their time evolution, is the Einstein’s theory of Gravity. One of the main prediction of the Gravity theory is the existence of Gravitational Waves (GW), the ripples of space-time. The latest GW detections by ground-based interferometers and the discovery of a binary pulsar verified the predictions of the Einstein’s theory and opened up an intensive activity of understanding all aspects of the GWs and the implications of this discovery to alternative theories of Gravities and their Cosmological implications.

      The modified gravity theories can give us important information on the structure and properties of the compact objects predicted by these theories and also the observational signatures which they can introduce. It is expected that future ground and space-borne detectors will improve our perception of gravitational interactions in particular will shed light into the existence of exotic compact objects, like hairy black holes and wormholes. These compact objects provide a window into the microscopic structure of spacetime in Quantum Gravity and the hope is to understand the nature of their interior, potential applications to Quantum Cosmology, and the development of further connections to quantum information and laboratory quantum simulation. The formation of these compact objects may also trigger possible holographic phase transitions to other compact objects.

     The aim of the 13th Aegean Summer School is to discuss the recent developments in theory in Gravity and Cosmology and in observations discussing the LIGO, VIRGO, LISA and BINGO experiments.

      The Aegean Summer Conferences take place every two years on different islands of Greece and aim to promote scientific research in Greece, educate Greek and foreign young scientists on modern developments in Physics, and enhance Greece’s scientific presence in the international scientific community. These conferences are addressed to distinguished Greek and international scientists in the field of Physics and contribute to the promotion of Greece and the islands where they are organized.  The practice of the Aegean Summer Conferences, which is also its policy, is to intervene culturally and educationally in the local communities from which it is hosted. For this reason, this year, in parallel with the proceedings of the Conference in accordance with the municipality of Kasos to give an open Public Lecture on current scientific issues in the field to the citizens of Kasos.

     The 13th Aegean Summer School will take place in Kasos and it is organized and sponsored by the National Technical University of Athens, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the National Observatory of Athens, the University of Lisbon, Portugal, the University of Nottingham, England,  the Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile, the Universidad de La Serena, La Serena, Chile, the University Sao Paulo, Brazil.