An analytic metric for the exterior spacetime of neutron stars in scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity

Probing the interior composition of neutron stars is currently an active research area in nuclear physics. Experiments, such as the Neutron star Interior Composition ExploreR (NICER), are aiming to probe the composition of neutron stars based on pulse profiles of X-ray hot-spots. To understand what these profiles look like, accurate knowledge of the space-time right outside a neutron star is needed. In this talk, I will present an analytical exterior metric for a neutron star in scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity. This metric modifies a variety of general relativity properties, such as the innermost stable circular orbit and Kepler's third law for a small body in orbit around a neutron star, as well as the visible fraction of the star, which can be observed with X-ray telescopes. In the future, light curves generated with this new metric could be compared to real light curve data from NICER to place constraints on scalar-Gauss-Bonnet gravity.