Speaker
Description
The search for modifications to Einstein’s theory of general relativity has become increasingly intriguing as recent and upcoming gravitational wave experiments open a new window to probe gravity with compact objects such as black holes. One natural extension to general relativity arises from the four-dimensional string-inspired effective field theory of gravity which introduces a nonminimally coupled scalar field. In this talk, I will take this a step further and consider scalar-tensor theories of gravity which introduce two scalar fields coupled to curvature as well as each other, as such interactions are not ruled out by solar system tests. To consider the effect of these interactions in strong gravity environments, I will present numerical relativity simulations of two scalar fields evolving around single and binary black holes, demonstrating the dynamical formation of the black-hole hairs.