Probing the Brans-Dicke Gravitational Field by Cerenkov Radiation

The possibility that a charged particle propagating in a gravitational field described by Brans-Dicke theory of gravity could emit Cerenkov radiation is explored. This process is kinematically allowed depending on parameters occurring in the theory. The Cerenkov effect disappears as the BD parameter omega tends to inftinity, i.e. in the limit in which the Einstein theory is recovered, giving a signature to probe the validity of the Brans-Dicke theory.