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The ghost of vector fields in compact stars

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arxiv 2110.04594 v3 pith:C7YSNLMW submitted 2021-10-09 gr-qc hep-th

classification gr-qchep-th
keywords fieldvectorfieldsscalarscalarizationcompactconfigurationghost
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal
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Spontaneous scalarization is a mechanism that allows a scalar field to go undetected in weak gravity environments and yet develop a nontrivial configuration in strongly gravitating systems. At the perturbative level it manifests as a tachyonic instability around spacetimes that solve Einstein's equations. The endpoint of this instability is a nontrivial scalar field configuration that can significantly modify a compact object's structure and can produce observational signatures of the scalar field's presence. Does such a mechanism exists for vector fields? Here we revisit the model that constitutes the most straightforward generalization of the original scalarization model to a vector field and perform a perturbative analysis. We show that a ghost appears as soon as the square of the naive effective mass squared becomes negative anywhere. This result poses a serious obstacle in generalizing spontaneous scalarization to vector fields.

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Cited by 4 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. No-go theorem for spontaneous vectorization

    gr-qc 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 8.0 of 10

    A no-go theorem shows that negative effective mass squared for the vector field in vector-tensor gravity always accompanies ghost or gradient instabilities, blocking spontaneous vectorization in stationary axisymmetri...

  2. Black holes and neutron stars in massive Hellings-Nordtvedt theory

    gr-qc 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 7.0 of 10

    Field equation analysis near infinity in massive Hellings-Nordtvedt theory restricts the model to two single-coupling sectors; the A²R sector yields asymptotically flat Schwarzschild black holes with radial vector fie...

  3. Black holes and neutron stars in massive Hellings-Nordtvedt theory

    gr-qc 2026-05 reject novelty 6.0 of 10

    In massive Hellings-Nordtvedt theory, a nonzero vector vacuum asymptotically forbids both curvature-vector couplings at once, and the A²R sector yields Schwarzschild-like black holes plus neutron stars that can deviat...

  4. Dark matter and modified gravity: Einstein clusters from a non-minimally coupled vector field

    gr-qc 2025-05 unverdicted novelty 6.0 of 10

    A non-minimally coupled vector field reproduces Einstein cluster dynamics that account for flat galactic rotation curves.

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