Testing general metric theories of gravity with bursting neutron stars
- Departments of Physics and Astronomy, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 (United States)
I show that several observable properties of bursting neutron stars in metric theories of gravity can be calculated using only conservation laws, Killing symmetries, and the Einstein equivalence principle, without requiring the validity of the general relativistic field equations. I calculate, in particular, the gravitational redshift of a surface atomic line, the touchdown luminosity of a radius-expansion burst, which is believed to be equal to the Eddington critical luminosity, and the apparent surface area of a neutron star as measured during the cooling tails of bursts. I show that, for a general metric theory of gravity, the apparent surface area of a neutron star depends on the coordinate radius of the stellar surface and on its gravitational redshift in the exact same way as in general relativity. On the other hand, the Eddington critical luminosity depends also on an additional parameter that measures the degree to which the general relativistic field equations are satisfied. These results can be used in conjunction with current and future high-energy observations of bursting neutron stars to test general relativity in the strong-field regime.
- OSTI ID:
- 21249824
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Vol. 77, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.77.064006; (c) 2008 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0556-2821
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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