Theory-agnostic framework for dynamical scalarization of compact binaries

Gravitational wave observations can provide unprecedented insight into the fundamental nature of gravity and allow for novel tests of modifications to general relativity. One proposed modification suggests that gravity may undergo a phase transition in the strong-field regime; the detection of such...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. D 2019-12, Vol.100 (12), p.1, Article 124013
Main Authors: Khalil, Mohammed, Sennett, Noah, Steinhoff, Jan, Buonanno, Alessandra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Broken symmetry
Electrodynamics
Field theory
Gravitation theory
Gravitational waves
Parameterization
Phase transitions
Relativity
Scalars
Theory of relativity
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Summary:Gravitational wave observations can provide unprecedented insight into the fundamental nature of gravity and allow for novel tests of modifications to general relativity. One proposed modification suggests that gravity may undergo a phase transition in the strong-field regime; the detection of such a new phase would constitute a smoking gun for corrections to general relativity at the classical level. Several classes of modified gravity predict the existence of such a transition-known as spontaneous scalarization-associated with the spontaneous symmetry breaking of a scalar field near a compact object. Using a strong-field-agnostic effective-field-theory approach, we show that all theories that exhibit spontaneous scalarization can also manifest dynamical scalarization, a phase transition associated with symmetry breaking in a binary system. We derive an effective point-particle action that provides a simple parametrization describing both phenomena, which establishes a foundation for theory-agnostic searches for scalarization in gravitational-wave observations. This parametrization can be mapped onto any theory in which scalarization occurs; we demonstrate this point explicitly for binary black holes with a toy model of modified electrodynamics.
ISSN:2470-0010
2470-0029
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevD.100.124013