Work

Evading the Vainshtein Mechanism with Anomalous Gravitational Wave Speed: Constraints on Modified Gravity from Binary Pulsars

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: By using observations of the Hulse-Taylor pulsar, we constrain the gravitational wave (GW) speed to the level of 10(-2). We apply this result to scalar-tensor theories that generalize Galileon 4 and 5 models, which display anomalous propagation speed and coupling to matter for GWs. We argue that this effect survives conventional screening due to the persistence of a scalar field gradient inside virialized overdensities, which effectively "pierces" the Vainshtein screening. In specific branches of solutions, our result allows us to directly constrain the cosmological couplings in the effective field theory of dark energy formalism.

Source: Physical Review Letters

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.116.061101

Authors: Jose Beltrán Jiménez, Federico Piazza, Hermano Velten

Institutions: Aix-Marseille Université, Centre de Physique Théorique

Language: English

Topic: Cosmology and Gravitation Theories

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo

Awards: INITIATIVE D'EXCELLENCE AIX MARSEILLE UNIVERSITE, G782245399