{
  "abstract": "Gravitational waves from compact binary coalescences provide a unique opportunity to test general relativity in the strong-field regime. Quadratic $f(R)=R+aR^2$ gravity is among the simplest higher-curvature extensions of general relativity and introduces a massive scalar degree of freedom whose finite interaction range can modify compact-binary dynamics and gravitational-wave emission. We map this theory onto the effective-field-theory waveform for generic massive scalar-tensor gravity, obtaining a theory-specific inspiral phase correction governed by the single coupling parameter $a$. Using Bayesian analyses of the binary-neutron-star events GW170817 and GW190425, we obtain a combined constraint on the quadratic-curvature coupling of $a\\lesssim6.2\\times10^6\\,\\mathrm{m}^2$ at $90\\%$ credibility, corresponding to a lower bound on the scalar mass of $m_s\\gtrsim3.2\\times10^{-11}\\,\\mathrm{eV}$. This constitutes the strongest astrophysical constraint on the quadratic-curvature coupling, improving the previous best bound by approximately five orders of magnitude and demonstrating the sensitivity of binary-neutron-star inspirals to finite-range scalar interactions in the strong-field regime.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2611.06902",
  "author_total": 2,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Pawan Kumar Gupta"
    },
    {
      "name": "Laura Sagunski"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5awtdx2wbrp9a.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2611.06902",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "5awtdx2wbrp9a",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.06902",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.HE"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "gr-qc"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-th"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2611.06902",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-04",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5awtdx2wbrp9a.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-05T15:20:56Z",
      "native_id": "2611.06902",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.06902"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.HE",
      "subfield": "high-energy-astrophysics"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:gr-qc",
      "subfield": "gravitation"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:hep-th",
      "subfield": "high-energy"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Gravitational-Wave Constraints on $R^2$ Gravity",
  "title_text": "Gravitational-Wave Constraints on R^2 Gravity",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T00:20:21Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5awtdx2wbrp9a",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}