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Spontaneous Scalarization of Black Holes and Compact Stars from a Gauss-Bonnet Coupling
Hector O Silva1,2, Jeremy Sakstein3, Leonardo Gualtieri4
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677, USA.
Abstract:
We identify a class of scalar-tensor theories with coupling between the scalar and the Gauss-Bonnet invariant that exhibit spontaneous scalarization for both black holes and compact stars. In particular, these theories formally admit all of the stationary solutions of general relativity, but these are not dynamically preferred if certain conditions are satisfied. Remarkably, black holes exhibit scalarization if their mass lies within one of many narrow bands. We find evidence that scalarization can occur in neutron stars as well.
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