Tidal Deformability of Neutron Stars in Scalar-Tensor Theories of Gravity

Abstract

Gravitational waves from compact binary coalescences are valuable for testing theories of gravity in the strong field regime. By measuring neutron star tidal deformability using gravitational waves from binary neutron stars, stringent constraints were placed on the equation of state of matter at extreme densities. Tidal Love numbers in alternative theories of gravity may differ significantly from their general relativistic counterparts. Understanding exactly how the tidal Love numbers change will enable scientists to untangle physics beyond general relativity from the uncertainty in the equation of state measurement. In this work, we explicitly calculate the fully relativistic $l\ge 2$ tidal love numbers for neutron stars in scalar-tensor theories of gravitation. We use several realistic equations of state to explore how the mass, radius, and tidal deformability relations differ from those of general relativity. We find that tidal Love numbers and tidal deformabilities can differ significantly from those in general relativity in certain regimes. The electric tidal deformability can differ by $\sim 200\%$, and the magnetic tidal deformability differs by $\sim 300\%$. These deviations occur at large compactnesses ($C=M/r\gtrsim 0.2$) and vary slightly depending on the equation of state. This difference suggests that using the tidal Love numbers from general relativity could lead to significant errors in tests of general relativity using the gravitational waves from binary neutron star and neutron-star--black-hole mergers.

Accepted to APJ

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• The Science of the Einstein Telescope
• Tidal Love Numbers from EFT of Black Hole Perturbations with Timelike Scalar Profile
• Tidal effects in gravitational waves from neutron stars in scalar-tensor theories of gravity
• Parametrized Tidal Dissipation Numbers of Non-rotating Black Holes
• Dynamical Tidal Response of Non-rotating Black Holes: Connecting the MST Formalism and Worldline EFT
• Tidal Love Numbers of Neutron Stars in Horndeski Theories
• Scalarized neutron stars with a highly relativistic core in scalar-tensor gravity
• Can Neutron Star Tidal Effects Obscure Deviations from General Relativity?
• Neutron Stars in Causal Scalar-Tensor Theories