The Polarizations of Gravitational Waves
The gravitational wave provides a new method to examine General Relativity and its alternatives in the high speed, strong field regime. Alternative theories of gravity generally predict more polarizations than General Relativity, so it is important to study the polarization contents of theories of g...
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MDPI AG
2018-08-01
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Series: | Universe |
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Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/4/8/85 |
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author | Yungui Gong Shaoqi Hou |
author_facet | Yungui Gong Shaoqi Hou |
author_sort | Yungui Gong |
collection | DOAJ |
description | The gravitational wave provides a new method to examine General Relativity and its alternatives in the high speed, strong field regime. Alternative theories of gravity generally predict more polarizations than General Relativity, so it is important to study the polarization contents of theories of gravity to reveal the nature of gravity. In this talk, we analyze the polarization contents of Horndeski theory and f(R) gravity. We find out that in addition to the familiar plus and cross polarizations, a massless Horndeski theory predicts an extra transverse polarization, and there is a mix of pure longitudinal and transverse breathing polarizations in the massive Horndeski theory and f(R) gravity. It is possible to use pulsar timing arrays to detect the extra polarizations in these theories. We also point out that the classification of polarizations using Newman–Penrose variables cannot be applied to massive modes. It cannot be used to classify polarizations in Einstein-æther theory or generalized Tensor-Vector-Scalar (TeVeS) theory, either. |
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institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2218-1997 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-13T07:23:53Z |
publishDate | 2018-08-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
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series | Universe |
spelling | doaj.art-ac904f87c081499782717d3bbee278da2022-12-22T02:56:32ZengMDPI AGUniverse2218-19972018-08-01488510.3390/universe4080085universe4080085The Polarizations of Gravitational WavesYungui Gong0Shaoqi Hou1School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, ChinaSchool of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, ChinaThe gravitational wave provides a new method to examine General Relativity and its alternatives in the high speed, strong field regime. Alternative theories of gravity generally predict more polarizations than General Relativity, so it is important to study the polarization contents of theories of gravity to reveal the nature of gravity. In this talk, we analyze the polarization contents of Horndeski theory and f(R) gravity. We find out that in addition to the familiar plus and cross polarizations, a massless Horndeski theory predicts an extra transverse polarization, and there is a mix of pure longitudinal and transverse breathing polarizations in the massive Horndeski theory and f(R) gravity. It is possible to use pulsar timing arrays to detect the extra polarizations in these theories. We also point out that the classification of polarizations using Newman–Penrose variables cannot be applied to massive modes. It cannot be used to classify polarizations in Einstein-æther theory or generalized Tensor-Vector-Scalar (TeVeS) theory, either.http://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/4/8/85gravitational wavespolarizationsE(2) classification |
spellingShingle | Yungui Gong Shaoqi Hou The Polarizations of Gravitational Waves Universe gravitational waves polarizations E(2) classification |
title | The Polarizations of Gravitational Waves |
title_full | The Polarizations of Gravitational Waves |
title_fullStr | The Polarizations of Gravitational Waves |
title_full_unstemmed | The Polarizations of Gravitational Waves |
title_short | The Polarizations of Gravitational Waves |
title_sort | polarizations of gravitational waves |
topic | gravitational waves polarizations E(2) classification |
url | http://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/4/8/85 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT yunguigong thepolarizationsofgravitationalwaves AT shaoqihou thepolarizationsofgravitationalwaves AT yunguigong polarizationsofgravitationalwaves AT shaoqihou polarizationsofgravitationalwaves |