Asteroseismic constraints on the cosmic-time variation of the gravitational constant from an ancient main-sequence star

TL;DR

This study uses asteroseismology of an ancient star to place constraints on the possible variation of the gravitational constant over cosmic time, finding no significant evidence for change.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method combining asteroseismology and Bayesian analysis to constrain the temporal variation of G using an old star.

Findings

No evidence for variation in G within uncertainties.

Estimated the age of the Universe using asteroseismic data.

Derived astrophysical S-factors for nuclear reactions.

Abstract

We investigate the variation of the gravitational constant $G$ over the history of the Universe by modeling the effects on the evolution and asteroseismology of the low-mass star KIC 7970740, which is one of the oldest (~11 Gyr) and best-observed solar-like oscillators in the Galaxy. From these data we find $\dot{G}/G = (1.2 \pm 2.6) \times 10^{-12}~\text{yr}^{-1}$, that is, no evidence for any variation in $G$. We also find a Bayesian asteroseismic estimate of the age of the Universe as well as astrophysical S-factors for five nuclear reactions obtained through a 12-dimensional stellar evolution Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation.