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Vainshtein mechanism after GW170817

Marco Crisostomi and Kazuya Koyama
Phys. Rev. D 97, 021301(R) – Published 12 January 2018

Abstract

The almost simultaneous detection of gravitational waves and a short gamma-ray burst from a neutron star merger has put a tight constraint on the difference between the speed of gravity and light. In the four-dimensional scalar-tensor theory with second-order equations of motion, the Horndeski theory, this translates into a significant reduction of the viable parameter space of the theory. Recently, extensions of Horndeski theory, which are free from Ostrogradsky ghosts despite the presence of higher-order derivatives in the equations of motion, have been identified and classified exploiting the degeneracy criterium. In these new theories, the fifth force mediated by the scalar field must be suppressed in order to evade the stringent Solar System constraints. We study the Vainshtein mechanism in the most general degenerate higher-order scalar-tensor theory in which light and gravity propagate at the same speed. We find that the Vainshtein mechanism generally works outside a matter source but it is broken inside matter, similarly to beyond Horndeski theories. This leaves interesting possibilities to test these theories that are compatible with gravitational wave observations using astrophysical objects.

  • Received 21 November 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.97.021301

© 2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Gravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics

Authors & Affiliations

Marco Crisostomi1,2,3 and Kazuya Koyama4

  • 1Institut de physique théorique, Université Paris Saclay CEA, CNRS, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
  • 2Astrophysics Department, IRFU, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
  • 3Laboratoire de Physique Théorique, CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
  • 4Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Dennis Sciama Building, Portsmouth PO1 3FX, United Kingdom

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Issue

Vol. 97, Iss. 2 — 15 January 2018

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