Slowly rotating neutron stars in the nonminimal derivative coupling sector of Horndeski gravity

Abstract

This work is devoted to the construction of slowly rotating neutron stars in the framework of the nonminimal derivative coupling sector of Horndeski theory. We match the large radius expansion of spherically symmetric solutions with cosmological solutions, and we find that the most viable model has only one free parameter. Then, by using several tabulated and realistic equations of state, we establish numerically the upper bound for this parameter in order to construct neutron stars in the slow rotation approximation with the maximal mass observed today. We finally study the surface redshift and the inertia of these objects and compare them with known data.