Constructing neutron stars with a gravitational Higgs mechanism

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Franchini, Nicola, Coates, Andrew and Sotiriou, Thomas P. (2018) Constructing neutron stars with a gravitational Higgs mechanism. Physical Review D, 97 (6). 064013. ISSN 2470-0010

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Abstract

In scalar-tensor theories, spontaneous scalarization is a phase transition that can occur in ultradense environments such as neutron stars. The scalar field develops a non-trivial configuration once the stars exceeds a compactness threshold. We recently pointed out that, if the scalar exhibits some additional coupling to matter, it could give rise to significantly different microphysics in these environments. In this work we study, at the non-perturbative level, a toy model in which the photon is given a large mass when spontaneous scalarization occurs. Our results demonstrate clearly the effectiveness of spontaneous scalarization as a Higgs-like mechanism in neutron stars.

Item Type: Article
Schools/Departments: University of Nottingham, UK > Faculty of Science > School of Mathematical Sciences
University of Nottingham, UK > Faculty of Science > School of Physics and Astronomy
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.97.064013
Depositing User: Eprints, Support
Date Deposited: 12 Apr 2018 10:02
Last Modified: 13 Apr 2018 18:11
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/51107

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