Fundamental physics using the temporal gravitational wave background

Physical review. D/Physical review. D., vol. 104

Abstract

We propose a novel probe of fundamental physics that involves the exploration of temporal correlations between the multi-frequency electromagnetic (EM) signal and the subthreshold GW signal or stochastic gravitational wave background (SGWB) originating from coalescing binaries. This method will be useful for the detection of EM counterparts associated with the subthreshold/SGWB signal. Exploiting the time delay between concomitant emission of the gravitational wave and EM signals enables inference of the redshifts of the contributing sources by studying the time delay dilation due to cosmological expansion, provided that the time-lag between the emission of gravitational wave signal and the EM signal acts like a standard clock. Measurement of the inevitable time-domain correlations between different frequencies of gravitational and EM waves, most notably in gamma-rays, will test several aspects of fundamental physics and gravitation theory, and enable a new pathway for current and future gravitational wave telescopes to study the universal nature of binary compact objects to high redshifts.

Authors 2

1. Suvodip Mukherjee Aachen Institute Lorentz

   Leiden University · University of Amsterdam · Delta Institute for Theoretical Physics · Institute for High Energy Physics

   Affiliation as printed

   Delta Institute for Theoretical Physics, Science Park 904, 1090 GL Amsterdam, The Netherlands

   Gravitation Astroparticle Physics Amsterdam (GRAPPA), Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy and Institute for High-Energy Physics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1090 GL Amsterdam, The Netherlands

   Institute Lorentz, Leiden University, PO Box 9506, Leiden 2300 RA, The Netherlands

2. Joseph I. Silk

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris · Johns Hopkins University · University of Oxford · Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie

   Affiliation as printed

   Beecroft Institute for Cosmology and Particle Astrophysics, University of Oxford, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, United Kingdom

   Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris (IAP), UMR 7095, CNRS/UPMC Université Paris 6, Sorbonne Universités, 98 bis boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris, France

   The Johns Hopkins University, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy, Room 366, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA

   Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (IAP), UMR 7095, CNRS/UPMC Université Paris 6, Sorbonne Universités, 98 bis boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris, France