Brans–Dicke theory
E703697
Brans–Dicke theory is an alternative theory of gravitation to Einstein’s general relativity that introduces a scalar field to allow for a varying gravitational “constant.”
All labels observed (2)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Brans–Dicke theory canonical | 3 |
| Jordan’s scalar–tensor theory | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T7992039 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Brans–Dicke theory Context triple: [Robert H. Dicke, notableWork, Brans–Dicke theory]
-
A.
f(R) gravity
f(R) gravity is a class of modified theories of gravity in which the Einstein–Hilbert action is generalized by replacing the Ricci scalar R with a function f(R), leading to alternative explanations for cosmic acceleration and gravitational phenomena.
-
B.
Newtonian gravitational cosmology
Newtonian gravitational cosmology is a classical framework that applies Newton’s law of universal gravitation to model the large-scale structure, dynamics, and evolution of the universe before the advent of general relativity.
-
C.
Kaluza–Klein theory
Kaluza–Klein theory is a higher-dimensional unification framework that extends general relativity by adding extra spatial dimensions to geometrically incorporate electromagnetism (and potentially other forces) alongside gravity.
-
D.
Gravitation and Cosmology
Gravitation and Cosmology is a landmark graduate-level textbook by Steven Weinberg that presents a comprehensive, modern treatment of general relativity and its applications to cosmology and astrophysics.
-
E.
Bianchi type cosmologies
Bianchi type cosmologies are a class of spatially homogeneous but generally anisotropic cosmological models that classify possible three-dimensional Lie group symmetries of spacetime in general relativity.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Brans–Dicke theory Target entity description: Brans–Dicke theory is an alternative theory of gravitation to Einstein’s general relativity that introduces a scalar field to allow for a varying gravitational “constant.”
-
A.
f(R) gravity
f(R) gravity is a class of modified theories of gravity in which the Einstein–Hilbert action is generalized by replacing the Ricci scalar R with a function f(R), leading to alternative explanations for cosmic acceleration and gravitational phenomena.
-
B.
Newtonian gravitational cosmology
Newtonian gravitational cosmology is a classical framework that applies Newton’s law of universal gravitation to model the large-scale structure, dynamics, and evolution of the universe before the advent of general relativity.
-
C.
Kaluza–Klein theory
Kaluza–Klein theory is a higher-dimensional unification framework that extends general relativity by adding extra spatial dimensions to geometrically incorporate electromagnetism (and potentially other forces) alongside gravity.
-
D.
Gravitation and Cosmology
Gravitation and Cosmology is a landmark graduate-level textbook by Steven Weinberg that presents a comprehensive, modern treatment of general relativity and its applications to cosmology and astrophysics.
-
E.
Bianchi type cosmologies
Bianchi type cosmologies are a class of spatially homogeneous but generally anisotropic cosmological models that classify possible three-dimensional Lie group symmetries of spacetime in general relativity.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
alternative theory of gravity
ⓘ
metric theory of gravitation ⓘ scalar–tensor theory of gravitation ⓘ |
| allows | varying gravitational constant ⓘ |
| assumes |
Lorentzian spacetime metric
ⓘ
minimal coupling of matter to metric ⓘ |
| belongsTo | class of Jordan–Fierz–Brans–Dicke theories ⓘ |
| constrainedBy |
Cassini spacecraft measurements
ⓘ
linked to:
Cassini–Huygens
solar system experiments ⓘ |
| generalizes |
Jordan’s scalar–tensor theory
ⓘ
linked to:
Brans–Dicke theory
|
| hasAuthor |
Carl H. Brans
ⓘ
Robert H. Dicke ⓘ |
| hasField |
cosmology
ⓘ
gravitational physics ⓘ theoretical physics ⓘ |
| hasLagrangianDensity | L ∝ √(-g)(φR - ω φ^{-1} ∂_μφ ∂^μφ + L_m) ⓘ |
| hasMathematicalStructure | metric tensor plus scalar field ⓘ |
| hasOriginalPaperTitle | “Mach’s Principle and a Relativistic Theory of Gravitation” ⓘ |
| hasParameter | Brans–Dicke coupling constant ⓘ |
| hasParameterSymbol | ω ⓘ |
| hasPostNewtonianParameter | γ ⓘ |
| influenced |
inflationary cosmology models
ⓘ
modern scalar–tensor dark energy models ⓘ |
| introduces | scalar field ⓘ |
| isCompatibleWith | local conservation of energy–momentum ⓘ |
| isFormulatedIn | four-dimensional spacetime ⓘ |
| isTestedBy |
binary pulsar observations
ⓘ
cosmological observations ⓘ |
| modifies | Einstein’s general relativity ⓘ |
| namedAfter |
Carl H. Brans
ⓘ
Robert H. Dicke ⓘ |
| obeys | Mach’s principle approximately ⓘ |
| predicts |
deviations from general relativity in weak-field tests
ⓘ
time variation of effective Newton’s constant ⓘ |
| publicationYear | 1961 ⓘ |
| publishedInJournal | Physical Review ⓘ |
| reducesTo | general relativity in a certain limit ⓘ |
| reducesToGeneralRelativityWhen | ω → ∞ ⓘ |
| relatesParameterGammaToOmega | γ = (1 + ω)/(2 + ω) ⓘ |
| satisfies | weak equivalence principle ⓘ |
| treats | gravitational constant as dynamical field ⓘ |
| uses |
Einstein frame metric
ⓘ
linked to:
Einstein frame
Jordan frame metric ⓘ |
| wasMotivatedBy |
Dirac’s large number hypothesis
ⓘ
Mach’s principle ⓘ
linked to:
Mach principle
|
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: Brans–Dicke theory Description of subject: Brans–Dicke theory is an alternative theory of gravitation to Einstein’s general relativity that introduces a scalar field to allow for a varying gravitational “constant.”
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.