Astrophysical aspects of string compactifications

TL;DR

This paper explores how string theory-derived moduli fields, like the axion and dilaton, influence astrophysical phenomena, especially in strong gravity environments, through numerical solutions of the TOV equations.

Contribution

It presents a detailed analysis of the astrophysical implications of multi-scalar-tensor theories inspired by string compactifications, including numerical solutions of the TOV system.

Findings

Demonstrates the existence of a screening mechanism reducing dilaton coupling

Provides numerical solutions for neutron star models in string-inspired theories

Highlights potential observable effects in strong gravity environments

Abstract

A generic aspect of low-energy effective field theories (EFTs) coming from string compactifications is the appearance of moduli fields. Among these moduli, the axion and dilaton are present as (pseudo-) Goldstone bosons from the spontaneous breaking of an exact (or approximate) global symmetry. These moduli have a different microscopic coupling to matter but appear kinetically coupled in such a way that their interaction can compete with gravity at low energies and have an important effect in strong gravity environments. In this talk, we will discuss some of the astrophysical implications of a stringy-inspired multi-scalar-tensor theory. In particular, we show the numerical solution of the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkov (TOV) system of equations, necessary to probe the existence of a screening mechanism that reduces the Brans-Dicke dilaton coupling to macroscopic matter sources such as a neutron star.