Propagation of polarized gravitational waves

Autoren: Lars Andersson, Jérémie Joudioux, Marius A. Oancea, Ayush Raj (2021)

The propagation of high-frequency gravitational waves can be analyzed using the geometrical optics approximation. In the case of large but finite frequencies, the geometrical optics approximation is no longer accurate, and polarization-dependent corrections at first order in wavelength modify the propagation of gravitational waves via a spin-orbit coupling mechanism. We present a covariant derivation from first principles of effective ray equations describing the propagation of polarized gravitational waves, up to first-order terms in wavelength, on arbitrary spacetime backgrounds. The effective ray equations describe a gravitational spin Hall effect for gravitational waves and are of the same form as those describing the gravitational spin Hall effect of light, derived from Maxwell's equations.

Zeitschrift:
Phys. Rev. D
Seiten:
044053
Band:
103

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