IUFFyM Seminar
Date: February 25
Time: 13:00 h
Place: IUFFyM seminar room (Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Salamanca)
Speaker: Daniela Doneva (Universitat de València)
Title: Neutron stars beyond GR – models, dynamics and gravitational phase transitions
Abstract: Neutron stars are among the most powerful laboratories for probing
strong-field gravity. Although uncertainties in the equation of state
remain, their rich phenomenology and the wealth of astrophysical
observations have already placed stringent constraints on many
modifications of General Relativity. In this talk, I will focus on
neutron star solutions in extended scalar–tensor theories, as well as
their dynamics when put in a binary. Particular attention will be paid
to astrophysical constraints arising from binary pulsar and merger
observations. I will conclude with a discussion of a particularly
intriguing phenomenon that appears for certain neutron star models
beyond General Relativity: gravitational phase transitions. During
such transitions, compact objects can spontaneously shed or acquire
scalar hair in a process analogous to the first-order phase
transitions in matter. This effect can offer a distinctive
observational signature, providing a potential smoking gun for physics
beyond General Relativity.
