Eur. Phys. J. C (2017) 77:62
DOI 10.1140/epjc/s10052-017-4637-8
Regular Article - Theoretical Physics
Quark stars in f (T, T )-gravity
Mark Pace
1,2,a
, Jackson Levi Said
1,2,b
1
Department of Physics, University of Malta, Msida MSD 2080, Malta
2
Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy, University of Malta, Msida MSD 2080, Malta
Received: 19 October 2016 / Accepted: 15 January 2017 / Published online: 31 January 2017
© The Author(s) 2017. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Abstract We derive a working model for the Tolman–
Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation for quark star systems within
the modified f (T , T )-gravity class of models. We consider
f (T, T )-gravity for a static spherically symmetric space-
time. In this instance the metric is built from a more funda-
mental tetrad vierbein from which the metric tensor can be
derived. We impose a linear f (T ) parameter, namely taking
f = αT (r) + βT (r) + ϕ and investigate the behaviour of a
linear energy-momentum tensor trace, T . We also outline the
restrictions which modified f (T, T )-gravity imposes upon
the coupling parameters. Finally we incorporate the MIT bag
model in order to derive the mass–radius and mass–central
density relations of the quark star within f (T, T )-gravity.
1 Introduction
In recent years it has been shown that the universe is accel-
erating in its expansion [1,2]. In order to explain this one
can introduce the concept of the cosmological constant [3,4].
Together with the inclusion of dark matter we get the CDM
model, which explains a whole host of phenomena within the
universe [5–7]. Another approach to explaining this acceler-
ation is to modify the gravitational theory itself with alterna-
tive theories of gravity an example of which is f (R)-gravity
[8–11].
f (T )-gravity uses a “teleparallel” equivalent of GR
(TEGR) [12] approach, in which, instead of the torsion-
less Levi-Civita connection, the Weitzenböck connection is
used, with the dynamical objects being four linearly inde-
pendent vierbein elements [13,14]. The Weitzenböck con-
nection is curvature-free and describes the torsion of a man-
ifold. In the current case we consider a pure tetrad [15],
meaning that the torsion tensor is formed by a multiple of
the tetrad and its first derivative only. The Lagrangian den-
a
e-mail: mark.pace.10@um.edu.mt
b
e-mail: jackson.said@um.edu.mt
sity can be constructed from this torsion tensor under the
assumption of invariance under general coordinate transfor-
mations, global Lorentz transformations, and the parity oper-
ation [11,12,14,15]. Also the Lagrangian density is second
order in the torsion tensor [12,14]. Thus f (T )-gravity gener-
alises the above TEGR formalism, making the gravitational
Lagrangian a function of T [10–12].
Our study involves deriving a working model for the TOV
equation within a new modification of f (T ) class grav-
ity, namely f (T, T )-gravity. There is no theoretical reason
against couplings between the gravitational sector and the
standard matter one [10]. f (T , T )-gravity takes inspiration
from f (R, T )-gravity [10,16] where instead of having the
Ricci scalar coupled with the trace of the energy-momentum
tensor T , one couples the torsion scalar T with the trace of
the matter energy-momentum tensor T [10,11,16].
Recently a modification to this theory has been propose,
that of allowing for a general functional dependence on the
energy-momentum trace scalar, T
μ
μ
= T .
Our interest is in studying the behaviour of spherically
symmetric compact objects in this theory with a specific lin-
ear function being considered, namely f (T , T ) = αT (r) +
βT (r) + ϕ where α, β are arbitrary constants, and ϕ we take
as the cosmological constant. We consider the linear modifi-
cation since it is the natural first functional form to consider,
and the right place to start to understand how the trace of the
stress-energy tensor might effect f (T, T ) gravity. In partic-
ular, our focus is on quark stars in f (T , T ) gravity. Besides
the possibility of the existence of these exotic stars, this is
also a good place to study the behaviour of modified the-
ories of gravity in terms of constraints. Moreover, this also
opens the door to considerations of stiff matter in early phase
transitions [17].
The plan of this paper is as follows. In Sect. 2 we out-
line the theoretical background of the model. In Sect. 3 we
consider the rotated tetrad and use this to derive the TOV
equation in f (T , T )-gravity in Sect. 4. Section 5 will then
present the contrasting mass–radius relations derived using
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