Differentially rotating white-dwarf configurations in minimal dilatonic gravity

Develop and analyze differentially rotating white-dwarf configurations in minimal dilatonic gravity, including whether differential rotation can support substantially super-Chandrasekhar masses as it can in general relativity.

Background

The paper studies rigidly rotating white dwarfs in minimal dilatonic gravity using a non-perturbative Newtonian-plus-Yukawa self-consistent-field calculation up to the mass-shedding limit. Rigid rotation increases the maximum mass by only approximately 4–6% and therefore does not remove the sub-Chandrasekhar suppression found for non-rotating configurations.

Differential rotation is potentially more consequential because differentially rotating white dwarfs can support substantially super-Chandrasekhar masses in general relativity. The paper does not investigate such configurations, leaving unresolved whether differential rotation could significantly alter the mass limits predicted by minimal dilatonic gravity.