Neutron stars in a conservative $f(R,T)$ gravity

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Lobato, Ronaldo V., Carvalho, Geanderson A., Montaña, Carlos E. C., Rodriguez-Ruiz, Jose F.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Lobato, Ronaldo V.
Carvalho, Geanderson A.
Montaña, Carlos E. C.
Rodriguez-Ruiz, Jose F.
author_facet Lobato, Ronaldo V.
Carvalho, Geanderson A.
Montaña, Carlos E. C.
Rodriguez-Ruiz, Jose F.
contents We investigate a conservative formulation of $f(R,T)$ gravity motivated by a key limitation of several existing approaches: the gravitational function is often reconstructed from a chosen equation of state, making the gravity sector EoS-dependent and compromising universality. To avoid this problem, we reformulate the theory in terms of an effective energy-momentum tensor, so that the conservation law follows from the field equations and Bianchi identities while the gravitational action remains independent of the microphysical EoS. We derive the modified stellar structure equations, establish theoretical consistency conditions including coupling bounds and crust-singularity avoidance, and present the tidal perturbation sector in terms of effective thermodynamic variables and an effective sound speed. We then compute neutron star observables using realistic tabulated EoSs, including mass-radius relations and tidal deformabilities, and compare the model with current astrophysical constraints from massive pulsars, NICER radius measurements, and GW170817.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_09206
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Neutron stars in a conservative $f(R,T)$ gravity
Lobato, Ronaldo V.
Carvalho, Geanderson A.
Montaña, Carlos E. C.
Rodriguez-Ruiz, Jose F.
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
We investigate a conservative formulation of $f(R,T)$ gravity motivated by a key limitation of several existing approaches: the gravitational function is often reconstructed from a chosen equation of state, making the gravity sector EoS-dependent and compromising universality. To avoid this problem, we reformulate the theory in terms of an effective energy-momentum tensor, so that the conservation law follows from the field equations and Bianchi identities while the gravitational action remains independent of the microphysical EoS. We derive the modified stellar structure equations, establish theoretical consistency conditions including coupling bounds and crust-singularity avoidance, and present the tidal perturbation sector in terms of effective thermodynamic variables and an effective sound speed. We then compute neutron star observables using realistic tabulated EoSs, including mass-radius relations and tidal deformabilities, and compare the model with current astrophysical constraints from massive pulsars, NICER radius measurements, and GW170817.
title Neutron stars in a conservative $f(R,T)$ gravity
topic General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.09206