An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A relativistic theory of gravitation which involves a → scalar field in addition to the → metric (→ tensor field) used in rarr; general relativity. It obeys the → equivalence principle, but tries at the same time to comply with → Mach's principle owing to possible spatial and temporal variations of the → gravitational constant, which is inversely proportional to the scalar field. The theory uses a new dimensionless parameter to determine the discrepancy between its predictions and those of general relativity. So far there is no firm indication of its validity. Same as → scalar-tensor theory.

Named after the creators, Carl Brans (1935-) and Robert Dicke (1916-1997), who presented the theory in 1961, based on the initial work of Pascual Jordan (1902-1980); → theory.