# Theory-agnostic framework for dynamical scalarization of compact binaries

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a theory-agnostic framework to describe dynamical scalarization in compact binaries, enabling model-independent tests of gravity modifications through gravitational wave observations.

## Contribution

It develops an effective point-particle action that parametrizes both spontaneous and dynamical scalarization across theories, facilitating theory-agnostic gravitational wave analysis.

## Key findings

- Derived a unified parametrization for scalarization phenomena.
- Mapped the framework onto a toy model of modified electrodynamics.
- Provided a foundation for theory-independent gravitational wave tests.

## Abstract

Gravitational wave observations can provide unprecedented insight into the fundamental nature of gravity and allow for novel tests of modifications to General Relativity. One proposed modification suggests that gravity may undergo a phase transition in the strong-field regime; the detection of such a new phase would constitute a smoking-gun for corrections to General Relativity at the classical level. Several classes of modified gravity predict the existence of such a transition - known as spontaneous scalarization - associated with the spontaneous symmetry breaking of a scalar field near a compact object. Using a strong-field-agnostic effective-field-theory approach, we show that all theories that exhibit spontaneous scalarization can also manifest dynamical scalarization, a phase transition associated with symmetry breaking in a binary system. We derive an effective point-particle action that provides a simple parametrization describing both phenomena, which establishes a foundation for theory-agnostic searches for scalarization in gravitational-wave observations. This parametrization can be mapped onto any theory in which scalarization occurs; we demonstrate this point explicitly for binary black holes with a toy model of modified electrodynamics.