Pre-main sequence evolution of low-mass stars in Eddington-inspired Born–Infeld gravity

Abstract

We study three aspects of the early-evolutionary phases in low-mass stars within Eddington-inspired Born–Infeld (EiBI) gravity, a viable extension of General Relativity. These aspects are concerned with the Hayashi tracks (i.e. the effective temperature-luminosity relation); the minimum mass required to belong to the main sequence; and the maximum mass allowed for a fully convective star within the main sequence. Using analytical models accounting for the most relevant physics of these processes, we find in all cases a dependence of these quantities not only on the theory’s parameter, but also on the star’s central density, a feature previously found in Palatini f(R) gravity. Using this, we investigate the evolution of these quantities with the (sign of the) EiBI parameter, finding a shift in the Hayashi tracks in opposite directions in the positive/negative branches of it, and an increase (decrease) for positive (negative) parameter in the two masses above. We use these results to elaborate on the chances to seek for traces of new physics in low-mass stars within this theory, and the limitations and difficulties faced by this approach.