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arXiv · 1811.01728

Two new approaches to the anomalous limit of Brans-Dicke to Einstein gravity

Valerio Faraoni·Jeremy Côté
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Abstract

Contrary to common belief, (electro)vacuum Brans-Dicke gravity does not reduce to general relativity for large Brans-Dicke coupling $\omega$, a problem which has never been fully solved. Two new approaches, independent from each other, shed light on this issue producing the same result: in the limit $\omega \rightarrow \infty $ an (electro)vacuum Brans-Dicke spacetime reduces to a solution of the Einstein equations sourced, not by (electro)vacuum, but by a minimally coupled scalar field. The latter is shown to coincide with the Einstein frame scalar field. The first method employs a direct analysis of the Einstein frame, while the second (complementary and independent) method uses an imperfect fluid representation of Brans-Dicke gravity together with a little known 1-parameter symmetry group of this theory.

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Valerio Faraoni, Jeremy Côté. 2018-11-05. Two new approaches to the anomalous limit of Brans-Dicke to Einstein gravity. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.99.064013

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