Measuring stochastic gravitational-wave energy beyond general relativity
Gravity theories beyond general relativity (GR) can change the properties of gravitational waves: their polarizations, dispersion, speed, and, importantly, energy content are all heavily theory dependent. All these corrections can potentially be probed by measuring the stochastic gravitational-wave...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Physical Society
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/119239 |
| _version_ | 1826192537287655424 |
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| author | Stein, Leo C. Isi Banales, Maximiliano S |
| author2 | LIGO (Observatory : Massachusetts Institute of Technology) |
| author_facet | LIGO (Observatory : Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Stein, Leo C. Isi Banales, Maximiliano S |
| author_sort | Stein, Leo C. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Gravity theories beyond general relativity (GR) can change the properties of gravitational waves: their polarizations, dispersion, speed, and, importantly, energy content are all heavily theory dependent. All these corrections can potentially be probed by measuring the stochastic gravitational-wave background. However, most existing treatments of this background beyond GR overlook modifications to the energy carried by gravitational waves, or rely on GR assumptions that are invalid in other theories. This may lead to mistranslation between the observable cross-correlation of detector outputs and gravitational-wave energy density, and thus to errors when deriving observational constraints on theories. In this article, we lay out a generic formalism for stochastic gravitational-wave searches, applicable to a large family of theories beyond GR. We explicitly state the (often tacit) assumptions that go into these searches, evaluating their generic applicability, or lack thereof. Examples of problematic assumptions are as follows: statistical independence of linear polarization amplitudes; which polarizations satisfy equipartition; and which polarizations have well-defined phase velocities. We also show how to correctly infer the value of the stochastic energy density in the context of any given theory. We demonstrate with specific theories in which some of the traditional assumptions break down: Chern-Simons gravity, scalar-tensor theory, and Fierz-Pauli massive gravity. In each theory, we show how to properly include the beyond-GR corrections, and how to interpret observational results. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:19:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/119239 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:19:40Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | American Physical Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1192392022-09-30T14:15:39Z Measuring stochastic gravitational-wave energy beyond general relativity Stein, Leo C. Isi Banales, Maximiliano S LIGO (Observatory : Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Isi Banales, Maximiliano S Gravity theories beyond general relativity (GR) can change the properties of gravitational waves: their polarizations, dispersion, speed, and, importantly, energy content are all heavily theory dependent. All these corrections can potentially be probed by measuring the stochastic gravitational-wave background. However, most existing treatments of this background beyond GR overlook modifications to the energy carried by gravitational waves, or rely on GR assumptions that are invalid in other theories. This may lead to mistranslation between the observable cross-correlation of detector outputs and gravitational-wave energy density, and thus to errors when deriving observational constraints on theories. In this article, we lay out a generic formalism for stochastic gravitational-wave searches, applicable to a large family of theories beyond GR. We explicitly state the (often tacit) assumptions that go into these searches, evaluating their generic applicability, or lack thereof. Examples of problematic assumptions are as follows: statistical independence of linear polarization amplitudes; which polarizations satisfy equipartition; and which polarizations have well-defined phase velocities. We also show how to correctly infer the value of the stochastic energy density in the context of any given theory. We demonstrate with specific theories in which some of the traditional assumptions break down: Chern-Simons gravity, scalar-tensor theory, and Fierz-Pauli massive gravity. In each theory, we show how to properly include the beyond-GR corrections, and how to interpret observational results. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant HST–HF2–51410.001–A) 2018-11-20T19:37:40Z 2018-11-20T19:37:40Z 2018-11 2018-07 2018-11-16T18:00:27Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2470-0010 2470-0029 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/119239 Isi, Maximiliano and Stein, Leo C. "Measuring stochastic gravitational-wave energy beyond general relativity." Physical Review D 98, 10 (November 2018): 104025 © 2018 American Physical Society en http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.98.104025 Physical Review D Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. American Physical Society application/pdf American Physical Society American Physical Society |
| spellingShingle | Stein, Leo C. Isi Banales, Maximiliano S Measuring stochastic gravitational-wave energy beyond general relativity |
| title | Measuring stochastic gravitational-wave energy beyond general relativity |
| title_full | Measuring stochastic gravitational-wave energy beyond general relativity |
| title_fullStr | Measuring stochastic gravitational-wave energy beyond general relativity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measuring stochastic gravitational-wave energy beyond general relativity |
| title_short | Measuring stochastic gravitational-wave energy beyond general relativity |
| title_sort | measuring stochastic gravitational wave energy beyond general relativity |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/119239 |
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