Gravitational radiation, close binary systems, and the Brans-Dicke theory of gravity

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (157) References (25) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Gravitational Radiation, Close Binary Systems, and the Brans-Dicke Theory of Gravity Will, Clifford M. ; Zaglauer, Helmut W. Abstract Observational limits on the orbital period change of the binary pulsar PSR 1913+16 and of the 11-minute binary system 4U1820-30 are used to constrain the Brans-Dicke scalar-tensor theory of gravity. In 4U1820-30, dipole gravitational radiation damping is important. The conservative bound on the Brans-Dicke coupling constant is found to be omega(BD) greater than 30. The bounds are sensitive to the neutron-star model used and to the masses of the stars: for masses of 1.4 solar and 0.067 solar the bounds are omega(BD) greater than 140 for a stiff equation of state and omega(BD) greater than 600 for a soft equation of state. The binary pulsar differences between the Brans-Dicke theory and general relativity are suppressed by a factor related to the gravitational energy of the neutron stars, so that the resulting constraint on omega(BD) is uninteresting. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: November 1989 DOI: 10.1086/168016 Bibcode: 1989ApJ...346..366W Keywords: Binary Stars; Computational Astrophysics; Gravitation Theory; Gravitational Waves; Neutron Stars; Pulsars; Relativity; Black Holes (Astronomy); Equations Of State; Mass Transfer; Scalars; Tensors; Astrophysics; GRAVITATION; PULSARS; STARS: BINARIES; STARS: INDIVIDUAL ALPHANUMERIC: PSR 1913; 16; STARS: INDIVIDUAL ALPHANUMERIC: 4U 1820-30; STARS: NEUTRON full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (2)