Abstract

String theory imposes slight modifications to Einstein's equations of general relativity (GR). In (4), the authors claim that the gravitational field equations in empty space, which in GR are just R [subscript greek letters mu nu ] = 0, should hold one extra term which is first order in the string constant [alpha'] and proportional to the Riemann curvature tensor squared. They do admit, however, that this simple modification is just schematic. In (1) the authors use modified equations which are coupled to the dilation field. We show that equations given in (4) do not admit an isotropic solution; justification of these equations would require sacrificing isotropy. We thus investigate the consequences of the coupled equations from (1) and the black-hole solution they give there. We calculate the additional perihelion precession of Mercury, the added deflection of photons by the sun, and the extra gravitational redshift which should be present if these equations hold. We determine that additional effects due to string theory in each of these cases are quite minuscule.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2013

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Efthimious, Costas

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

College

College of Sciences

Degree Program

Physics

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences; Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

PDF

Identifier

CFH0004411

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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Included in

Physics Commons

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