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arXiv · 1110.2720

Constraining Lorentz-violating, Modified Dispersion Relations with Gravitational Waves

Saeed Mirshekari·Nicolas Yunes·Clifford M. Will
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Abstract

Modified gravity theories generically predict a violation of Lorentz invariance, which may lead to a modified dispersion relation for propagating modes of gravitational waves. We construct a parametrized dispersion relation that can reproduce a range of known Lorentz-violating predictions and investigate their impact on the propagation of gravitational waves. A modified dispersion relation forces different wavelengths of the gravitational wave train to travel at slightly different velocities, leading to a modified phase evolution observed at a gravitational-wave detector. We show how such corrections map to the waveform observable and to the parametrized post-Einsteinian framework, proposed to model a range of deviations from General Relativity. Given a gravitational-wave detection, the lack of evidence for such corrections could then be used to place a constraint on Lorentz violation. The constraints we obtain are tightest for dispersion relations that scale with small power of the graviton's momentum and deteriorate for a steeper scaling.

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Saeed Mirshekari, Nicolas Yunes, Clifford M. Will. 2014-11-29. Constraining Lorentz-violating, Modified Dispersion Relations with Gravitational Waves. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.85.024041

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