Chaos as a Possible Probe for Scalar Hair in Horndeski Gravity

TL;DR

This paper explores how chaotic dynamics and gravitational wave signatures can serve as sensitive probes for detecting scalar hair in black holes within Horndeski gravity, offering a new approach to test deviations from general relativity.

Contribution

It introduces chaotic dynamics as a novel indicator for scalar hair in black holes and demonstrates their effectiveness through analysis of orbital chaos and gravitational wave polarization.

Findings

Scalar hair suppresses orbital chaos in black hole spacetimes.

Scalar hair increases phase coherence between gravitational wave polarizations.

Chaotic observables can complement gravitational wave signals in testing gravity.

Abstract

The detection of black hole scalar hair, a possible deviation from general relativity's "no-hair" theorem, requires sensitive probes beyond conventional methods. This study proposes chaotic dynamics as a novel indicator for scalar hair in Horndeski gravity. We investigate the motion of a spinning test particle in a static, spherically symmetric hairy black hole spacetime. Our results show that increasing scalar hair systematically suppresses orbital chaos, as evidenced by regularized precession, reduced Lyapunov exponents, and contracted Poincare sections. Furthermore, scalar hair enhances the correlation between the two gravitational wave polarization modes, restoring phase coherence. These findings demonstrate that chaotic observables and gravitational wave signatures can jointly serve as sensitive probes for black hole hair, offering a complementary approach to testing gravity in strong-field regimes.