Testing general relativity with compact-body orbits: A modified Einstein-Infeld-Hoffmann framework

Abstract

We describe a general framework for analyzing orbits of systems containing compact objects (neutron stars or black holes) in a class of Lagrangian-based alternative theories of gravity that also admit a global preferred reference frame. The framework is based on a modified Einstein-Infeld-Hoffmann (EIH) formalism developed by Eardley and by Will, generalized to include the possibility of Lorentz-violating, preferred-frame effects. It uses a post-Newtonian $N$-body Lagrangian with arbitrary parameters that depend on the theory of gravity and on "sensitivities" that encode the effects of the bodies' internal structure on their motion. We determine the modified EIH parameters for the Einstein-Æther and Khronometric vector-tensor theories of gravity. We find the effects of motion relative to a preferred universal frame on the orbital parameters of binary systems containing neutron stars, such as a class of ultra-circular pulsar-white dwarf binaries, the amplitudes of the effects depend upon "strong-field" preferred-frame parameters ${\hat{\alpha }}_1$ and ${\hat{\alpha }}_2$, which we relate to the fundamental modified EIH parameters. We also determine the amplitude of the "Nordtvedt effect" in a triple system containing the pulsar J0337+1715 in terms of the modified EIH parameters.

Minor changes and corrections made to align with the published version

References in corpus (7)

• The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment
• Models of non-relativistic quantum gravity: the good, the bad and the healthy
• Generalizing TeVeS Cosmology
• Nonrotating black hole in a post-Newtonian tidal environment
• New tests of local Lorentz invariance of gravity with small-eccentricity binary pulsars
• Motion of Small Bodies in Classical Field Theory
• Post-Newtonian gravitational radiation and equations of motion via direct integration of the relaxed Einstein equations. V. Evidence for the strong equivalence principle to second post-Newtonian order

Cited by in corpus (13)

• Tests of Gravitational Symmetries with Pulsar Binary J1713+0747
• Dark energy interactions near the galactic centre
• New binary pulsar constraints on Einstein-æther theory after GW170817
• Gravitational wave forms, polarizations, response functions and energy losses of triple systems in Einstein-Aether theory
• Testing modified gravity via Yukawa potential in two body problem: Analytical solution and observational constraints
• Theory-agnostic framework for inspiral tests of general relativity with higher-harmonic gravitational waves
• Testing the Gravitational Weak Equivalence Principle in the Standard-Model Extension with Binary Pulsars
• The relation between general relativity and a class of Hořava gravity theories
• Gravitational waveforms and radiation powers of the triple system PSR J0337+1715 in modified theories of gravity
• Neutron star sensitivities in Hořava gravity after GW170817
• Probing Noncommutative Gravity with Gravitational Wave and Binary Pulsar Observations
• Scalar emission from neutron star-black hole binaries in scalar-tensor theories with kinetic screening
• Dark Energy as a Critical Period in Binary Motion: Bounds from Multi-scale Binaries