The effect of $f(R,T)$ modified gravity on mass and radius of pulsar HerX1

Abstract

Recent findings from the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) have opened up opportunities to investigate the potential coupling between matter and geometry, along with its resulting physical implications. Millisecond pulsars serve as an ideal subject for conducting such tests and examining these phenomena. We apply the field equations of modified gravity, $f(R, T)=R+\alpha\, T$ to a spherically symmetric spacetime, where $R$ is the Ricci scalar, $\alpha$ is a dimensional parameter, and $T$ is the matter of the geometry. Five unknown functions are present in the output system of differential equations, which consists of three equations. To close the system, we make explicit assumptions about the anisotropy and the radial metric potential, $g_{rr}$. We then solve the output differential equations and derive the explicit forms of the components of the energy-momentum tensor, namely, density, radial, and tangential pressures.