Testing Gravity with Quasi-periodic Oscillations from Accreting Black Holes: The Case of Einstein-Dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet Theory
Journal
Date Issued
2015
Author(s)
Abstract
Quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) observed in the X-ray flux emitted by accreting black holes are associated with phenomena occurring near the horizon. Future very large area X-ray instruments will be able to measure QPO frequencies with very high precision, thus probing this strong-field region. Using the relativistic precession model, we show the way in which QPO frequencies could be used to test general relativity (GR) against those alternative theories of gravity which predict deviations from the classical theory in the strong-field and high-curvature regimes. We consider one of the best-motivated high-curvature corrections to GR, namely, the Einstein-Dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet theory, and show that a detection of QPOs with the expected sensitivity of the proposed ESA M-class mission LOFT would set the most stringent constraints on the parameter space of this theory.
Volume
801
Issue
2
Start page
115
Issn Identifier
0004-637X
Ads BibCode
2015ApJ...801..115M
Rights
open.access
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