arXiv subjects

Kalin V. Staykov

Publications and source records attributed to Kalin V. Staykov.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Hybrid Stars with Post-Merger Rotation Profiles

We study the effect of differential rotation on hybrid stars with the first-order deconfinement phase transition from hadronic to color superconducting quark matter. The differential rotation is introduced within a realistic, four-parameter phenomenological rotation law, in which the maximum angular velocity of the rotating configuration is shifted away from the center. We focus on two classes of differentially rotating solutions, namely quasi-toroidal (type C) and quasi-spherical (type A), and study the changes in the star global properties and angular velocity profiles due to the presence of a phase transition. Thus, we demonstrate the existence of quasi-toroidal hybrid star configurations in which deconfined quark matter forms a ring around the center of mass, while hadronic matter remains at the center and outer layers. Furthermore, we show that when increasing the angular momentum $J$ the turning points of the $J=const$ sequences shift towards lower energy densities, shrinking considerably the region where differentially rotating neutron stars with phase transitions exists. Interestingly, for both type A and type C solutions, the angular velocity profile is continuous throughout the star despite the discontinuity in the energy density. Moreover, we show that at the crossing points where the mass-radius curves for different equations of state intersect, the rotational profiles of the solutions are very close despite large differences in the energy density profiles. This reveals a possible degeneracy between the post-merger remnant properties for models with and without phase transitions, emphasizing the need for complementary multi-messenger observables to distinguish between them.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2026

Phase transition structure of scalarized neutron stars: the effect of rotation and linear coupling

There has been a recent revival in understanding the spontaneous scalarization phenomenon in scalar-tensor gravity as a phase transition. Using the tools of the Landau theory, we now know that first-order transitions where scalarization occurs in a discontinuous manner is more prominent than what had been considered in the literature, and this might lead to novel observation channels. However, the examples so far have been restricted to specific quadratic scalar coupling terms and spherically symmetric stars. Here we explore the phase transition structure of scalarization for more general couplings, considering linear as well as quadratic terms in the conformal scaling factor of the theory. Moreover, we also investigate the effect of rotation on the scalarization phase transition. Both of these considerations are natural choices since the coupling in a scalar-tensor theory can appear at all orders, and astrophysical neutron stars commonly have angular momentum. The introduction of linear coupling leads to a complex solution space which is harder to explore. However, we demonstrate that the Landau model of scalarization enables us to systematically find the branches of scalarized solutions that are commonly overlooked in numerical searches, providing a novel tool. On the other hand, the main effect of stellar rotation is shifting the stellar masses at which the phase transition occurs to higher values, but the qualitative picture remains similar to what happens under spherical symmetry.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Differentially rotating neutron stars with dark matter cores

Dark matter is expected to accumulate inside neutron stars, modifying the structure of isolated stars and influencing both the dynamics of binary mergers and the evolution of the resulting hypermassive remnants. Since differential rotation is the primary mechanism delaying the collapse of these remnants, understanding its behavior is crucial when assessing the impact of an embedded dark component. In this work, we extend the numerical code RNS to describe two gravitationally coupled fluids in differential rotation, with baryonic matter modeled by a realistic nuclear equation of state and dark matter represented as a self-interacting bosonic condensate. Within this framework, we construct equilibrium sequences for a representative differential rotation law, providing a basis to explore how dark matter may influence the global properties and rotational dynamics of binary neutron star remnants.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Rotating scalarized black holes: the role of the coupling

We perform an in-depth analysis of rotating scalarized black holes in scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity, where scalarization is induced by the spacetime curvature. Our results show that even for very large spins, the scalar charge can reach values comparable to those in the static limit, meaning it is not significantly suppressed. Consequently, curvature-induced scalarization can lead to non-GR signatures of similar magnitude in both static and rapidly rotating cases. For certain coupling parameters, these scalarized black hole solutions remain within the regime of validity of the effective field theory, where the theory has well-posed formulations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2025

Axisymmetric stability of neutron stars as extreme rotators in massive scalar-tensor theory

Differentially rotating scalarized neutron stars, mimickers of binary merger remnants, can possess an enormous angular momentum larger than what could possibly be sustained in a neutron star in general relativity by about one order of magnitude. A natural question to ask is whether these solutions are stable and thus can realize in a binary coalescence. With this motivation in mind, we examine the criterion of dynamical stability against axisymmetric perturbations for these ultra-rotators by numerically tracking their nonlinear evolution in an axisymmetric setup. We demonstrate that the turning-point criterion still serves as a sufficient condition for asymmetric (in)stability. Our findings open an interesting question of whether the merger of two scalarized neutron stars can produce (possibly short-lived) ultra-highly rotating merger remnants.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Neutron stars in extended scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity: the richness of the solution spectrum

Neutron stars are natural laboratories for testing gravity in the strong field regime. That is why the full spectrum of neutron star solutions in different modified theories should be thoroughly studied. Among the most natural modifications of general relativity are the theories in which additional scalar degrees of freedom are present. That is why scalar-tensor theories like Brans--Dike and Damour--Esposito--Farese theories, as well as their extensions such as scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity, attracted attention throughout the years. In the present work, we combine those theory families and explore extensively the neutron star solution space in their realm. We identify qualitative new behavior of the solutions, including the existence of new types of phase transitions and new branches of solutions present only for high neutron star masses. Due to the peculiarities of the solutions, they can not be easily mimicked by a simple change of the equation of state.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

The power of binary pulsars in testing Gauss-Bonnet gravity

Binary pulsars are a powerful tool for probing strong gravity that still outperforms direct gravitational wave observations in a number of directions due to the remarkable accuracy of the pulsar timing. They can constrain very precisely the presence of additional charges of the orbiting neutron stars leading to new channels of energy and angular momentum loss, such as the scalar dipole radiation. In the present paper, we explore in detail the possibility of constraining different classes of scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity with binary pulsars. Additionally, the existing constraints related to the observed maximum mass of neutron stars are also updated. Interestingly, depending on the equation of state, the resulting limits on the theory coupling parameters can outperform the constraints coming from binary merger observations by up to a factor of 2 even for the so-called Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity where neutron stars are often underestimated as relevant theory probes. As an additional merit, precise Bayesian methods are compared with approximate approaches with the latter showing very good performance despite their simplicity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Neutron stars in Gauss-Bonnet gravity -- nonlinear scalarization and gravitational phase transitions

It was recently discovered that scalarized neutron stars in scalar-tensor theories can undergo a gravitational phase transition to a non-scalarized (GR) state. Surprisingly, even though the driving mechanism is totally different, the process resembles closely the first-order matter phase transition from confined nuclear matter to deconfined quark matter in neutron star cores. The studies until now were limited, though, to only one theory of gravity and a limited range of parameters. With the present paper, we aim at demonstrating that gravitational phase transitions are more common than expected. More specifically, we show that the phenomenon of nonlinear scalarization is present for neutron stars in Gauss-Bonnet gravity leading to the possibility of gravitational phase transition. Moreover, it can be observed for a wide range of parameters so no fine-tuning is needed. This solidifies the conjecture that gravitational phase transitions are an important phenomenon for compact objects and their astrophysical implications deserve an in-depth study.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2023

Differentially rotating scalarized neutron stars with realistic post-merger profile

The merger remnant of a binary neutron star coalescence is initially strongly differentially rotating. Some properties of these remnants can be accurately modeled through building equilibrium neutron star models. In the present paper, we study how a modification of general relativity, namely scalar-tensor theory with a massive scalar field, will alter the picture. In contrast to previous studies, we implement a realistic phenomenological differential rotational law which allows for neutron star models to attain maximal angular velocity away from the center. We find that solutions with much higher masses and angular momenta exist in scalar-tensor theory compared to general relativity. They keep their quasi-spherical energy-density distribution for significantly higher values of the angular momentum before transitioning to quasi-toroidal models, in contrast to pure general relativity. Constructing such neutron star solutions is the first step to our final goal that is studying how scalarization alters the stability and gravitational wave emission of post-merger remnants.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2022

Multi-scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity: scalarized black holes beyond spontaneous scalarization

Recently, a new nonlinear mechanism for black hole scalarization, different from the standard spontaneous scalarization, was demonstrated to exist for scalar Gauss-Bonnet theories in which no tachyonic instabilities can occur. Thus Schwarzschild black hole is linearly stable but instead nonlinear instability can kick-in. In the present paper we extend on this idea in the case of multi-scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity with exponential coupling functions of third and fourth leading order in the scalar field. The main motivation comes from the fact that these theories admit hairy compact objects with zero scalar charge, thus zero scalar-dipole radiation, that automatically evades the binary pulsar constraints on the theory parameters. We demonstrate numerically the existence of scalarized black holes for both coupling functions and for all possible maximally symmetric scalar field target spaces. The thermodynamics and the stability of the obtained solution branches is also discussed.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Axial perturbations of hairy Gauss-Bonnet black holes with massive self-interacting scalar field

We study the axial quasinormal modes of hairy black holes in Gauss-Bonnet gravity with massive self-interacting scalar field. Two coupling functions of the scalar field to the Gauss-Bonnet invariant are adopted with one of them leading to black hole scalarization. The axial perturbations are studied via time evolution of the perturbation equation, and the effect of the scalar field mass and the self-interaction constant on the oscillation frequency and damping time is examined. We study as well the effect of nonzero scalar field potential on the critical point at which the perturbation equation loses hyperbolicity in the case of black hole scalarization. The results show that the non-zero scalar field potential extends the range of parameters where such loss of hyperbolicity is observed thus shrinking the region of stable black hole existence. This will have an important effect on the nonlinear dynamical simulation studies in massive scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2021

Scalarized non-topological neutron stars in multi-scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity

In the present paper we construct novel non-topological, spontaneously scalarized neutron stars in multi-scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity with maximally symmetric target space, and nontrivial map $φ:spacetime \rightarrow target\ space$. The theory is characterized by the fact that for some classes of coupling functions the field equations allow solutions with trivial scalar field, which coincide with the general relativistic ones. For a certain range of parameters those solutions lose stability and new branches of solutions with nontrivial scalar field bifurcate from the trivial branch. For a given set of parameters, those branches are characterized by the number of zeros of the scalar field, and they are energetically more favorable than the general relativistic ones.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2020

Multi-scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity -- hairy black holes and scalarization

In the present paper we consider multi-scalar extension of Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity. We focus on multi-scalar Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet models whose target space is a three-dimensional maximally symmetric space, namely either $\mathbb{S}^3$, $\mathbb{H}^3$ or $\mathbb{R}^3$, and in the case when the map $\text{\it spacetime} \to \text{\it target space}$ is nontrivial. We prove numerically the existence of black holes in this class of models for several Gauss-Bonnet coupling functions, including the case of scalarization. We also perform systematic study of a variety of black hole characteristics and the space-time around them, such as the area of the horizon, the entropy and the radius of the photon sphere. One of the most important properties of the obtained solutions is that the scalar charge is zero and thus the scalar dipole radiation is suppressed which leads to much weaker observational constraints compared to the majority of modified theories possessing a scalar degree of freedom. For one of the coupling functions we could find branches of scalarized black holes which have a nontrivial structure -- there is non-uniqueness of the scalarized solutions belonging to a single branch and there is a region of the parameter space where most probably stable scalarized black holes coexist with the stable Schwarzschild black holes. Such a phenomena can have a clear observational signature.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Gauss-Bonnet black holes with a massive scalar field

In the present paper we consider the extended scalar-tensor-Gauss-Bonnet gravity with a massive scalar field. We prove numerically the existence of Gauss-Bonnet black holes for three different forms of the coupling function including the case of spontaneous scalarization. We have performed a systematic study of the black hole characteristics such as the area of the horizon, the entropy and the temperature for these coupling functions and compared them to the Schwarzschild solutions. The introduction of scalar field mass leads to a suppression of the scalar field and the increase of this mass brings the black holes closer to the Schwarzschild case. For linear and exponential coupling, a nonzero scalar field mass expands the domain of existence of black holes solutions. Larger deviations from the GR case are observed only for small masses and these differences decrease with the increase of the scalar field mass. In the case of a coupling function which leads to scalarization the scalar field mass has a significant influence on the bifurcation points where the scalarized black holes branch out of the Schwarzschild solution. The largest deviation from the case with a massless scalar field are observed for black hole masses close to the bifurcation point.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2019

Orbital and epicyclic frequencies in massive scalar-tensor theory with self-interaction

Testing modified theories of gravity with direct observations of the parameters of a neutron star is not the optimal way of testing gravitational theories. However, observing electromagnetic signals originating from the close vicinity of the compact object my turn out an excellent way of probing spacetime in strong field regime. A promising candidate for doing so are the so-called quasi-periodic oscillations, observed in the X-ray light curves of some pulsars. Although the origin of those oscillations is unknown, one thing most of the models describing them have in common is that in one way or another they incorporate the radius of the innermost stable circular obit, and the orbital and the epicyclic frequencies of particles moving around the compact object. In this paper we study the aforementioned quantities in the context of massive scalar-tensor theory and massive scalar-tensor theory with self-interaction, both of which in strong regime allow for significant deviations from General relativity for values for the free parameters of the theory in correlation with the observations.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Moment of inertia - mass universal relations for neutron stars in scalar-tensor theory with self-interacting massive scalar field

We are investigating universal relations between different normalisations of the moment of inertia and the compactness of neutron stars in slow rotation approximation. We study the relations in particular class of massive scalar-sensor theories with self-interaction, for which significant deviations from General Relativity are allowed for values of the parameters that are in agreement with the observations. Moment of inertia-compactness relations are examined for different normalisation of the moment of inertia. It is shown that for all studied cases the deviations from EOS universality are small for the examined equations of state. On the other hand the scalarization can lead to large deviations from the general relativistic universal relations for values of the parameters that are in agreement with the current observations that can be potentially used to set further test the scalar-tensor theories.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Quasinormal modes of compact objects in alternative theories of gravity

We address quasinormal modes of compact objects in several alternative theories of gravity. In particular, we focus on black holes and neutron stars with scalar hair. We consider black holes in dilaton-Einstein-Gauß-Bonnet theory, and in a generalized scalar-Einstein-Gauß-Bonnet theory. In the latter case scalarized black holes arise, and we study the stability of the different branches of solutions. In particular, we discuss how the spectrum of quasinormal modes is changed by the presence of a non-trivial scalar field outside the black hole horizon. We discuss the existence of an (effective) minimum mass in these models, and how the spectrum of modes becomes richer as compared to general relativity, when a scalar field is present. Subsequently we discuss the effect of scalar hair for realistic neutron star models. Here we consider $R^2$ gravity, scalar-tensor theory, a particular subsector of Horndeski theory with a non-minimal derivative coupling, and again dilatonic-Einstein-Gauß-Bonnet theory. Because of the current lack of knowledge on the internal composition of the neutron stars, we focus on universal relations for the quasinormal modes, that are largely independent of the equations of state and thus the matter content of the stars.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2018

Static and slowly rotating neutron stars in scalar-tensor theory with self-interacting massive scalar field

Binary pulsar observations and gravitational wave detections seriously constrained scalar-tensor theories with massless scalar field allowing only small deviations from general relativity. If we consider a nonzero mass of the scalar field, though, significant deviations from general relativity are allowed for values of the parameters that are in agreement with the observations. In the present paper we extend this idea and we study scalar-tensor theory with massive field with self-interaction term in the potential. The additional term suppresses the scalar field in the neutron star models in addition to the effect of the mass of the scalar field but still, large deviations from pure GR can be observed for values of the parameters that are in agreement with the observations.

gr-qc↗