Recent observations of gravitational waves from binary black holes and neutron stars allow us to probe the strong and dynamical field regime of gravity. On the other hand, a collective signal from many individual, unresolved sources results in what is known as a stochastic background. We here consider probing gravity with such a background from stellar-mass binary black hole mergers. We adopt a simple power-law spectrum and carry out a parameter estimation study with a network of current and future ground-based detectors by including both general relativistic and beyond general relativistic variables. For a network of second-generation detectors, we find that one can place meaningful bounds on the deviation parameter in the gravitational-wave amplitude if it enters at a sufficiently negative post-Newtonian order. However, such future bounds from a stochastic background are weaker than existing bounds from individual sources, such as GW150914 and GW151226. We also find that systematic errors due to mismodeling of the spectrum is much smaller than statistical errors, which justifies our use of the power-law model. Regarding a network of third-generation detectors, we find that the bounds on the deviation parameter from statistical errors improve upon the second-generation case, though systematic errors now dominate the error budget and thus one needs to use a more realistic spectrum model. We conclude that individual sources seem to be more powerful in probing general relativity than the astrophysical stochastic background.
In this talk I will briefly outline work in progress in two different contexts in astrophysical relativity, i.e. the study of rotating star spacetimes and the problem of reliably extracting gravitational wave templates in numerical relativity. In both cases the use of Weyl scalars and curvature invariants helps to clarify important issues.
The recent observation of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos can be used to constrain violations of Lorentz invariance emerging from a quantum theory of gravity. We perform threshold and Cherenkov analyses that improve existing bounds by factors ranging from about a million to 10^{20}.
Applying the Vaidya metrics in the model of Expansive Nondecelerative Universe (ENU) leads to compatibility of the ENU model both with the classic Newton gravitational theory and the general theory of relativity in weak fields
The gravitation field of the flat plate was investigated. It have been shown that there exist the internal solution of Einstein equations sewed together with external one, which described a ''homogeneous'' gravitational field.
We derive two new retarded solutions in the teleparallel theory equivalent to general relativity (TEGR). One of these solutions gives a divergent energy. Therefore, we used the regularized expression of the gravitational energy-momentum tensor, which is a coordinate dependent. A detailed analysis of the loss of the mass of Bondi space-time is carried out using the flux of the gravitational energy-momentum.
We present an investigation of nonlinear interactions between Gravitational Radiation and modified Alfvén modes in astrophysical dusty plasmas. Assuming that stationary charged dust grains form neutralizing background in an electron-ion-dust plasma, we obtain the three wave coupling coefficients, and calculate the growth rates for parametrically coupled gravitational radiation and modified Alfvén-Rao modes. The threshold value of the gravitational wave amplitude associated with convective stabilization is particularly small if the gravitational frequency is close to twice the modified Alfvén w…
We present a simplified expression for the gravitational angular momentum in the framework of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity (TEGR). The expression arises from the constraints equations of the Hamiltonian formulation of the TEGR. We apply this expression to the calculation of the angular momentum of plane-fronted gravitational waves in an arbitrary three-dimensional volume $V$ of space and compare the results with those obtained for linearised gravitational waves.
A corollary of general relativity that the average velocity of light between two points in a gravitational field is anisotropic has been overlooked. It is shown that this anisotropy can be probed by an experiment which constitutes another test of general relativity.
In gravitational-wave detection, special emphasis is put onto searches that focus on cosmic events detected by other types of astrophysical observatories. The astrophysical triggers, e.g. from gamma-ray and X-ray satellites, optical telescopes and neutrino observatories, provide a trigger time for analyzing gravitational wave data coincident with the event. In certain cases the expected frequency range, source energetics, directional and progenitor information is also available. Beyond allowing the recognition of gravitational waveforms with amplitudes closer to the noise floor of the detector…
We demonstrate that evolutions of three-dimensional, strongly non-linear gravitational waves can be followed in numerical relativity, hence allowing many interesting studies of both fundamental and observational consequences. We study the evolution of time-symmetric, axisymmetric {\it and} non-axisymmetric Brill waves, including waves so strong that they collapse to form black holes under their own self-gravity. The critical amplitude for black hole formation is determined. The gravitational waves emitted in the black hole formation process are compared to those emitted in the head-on collisio…
The quantum gauge general relativity is proposed in the framework of quantum gauge theory of gravity. It is formulated based on gauge principle which states that the correct symmetry for gravitational interactions should be gravitational gauge symmetry. The gravitational gauge group is studied in the paper. Then gravitational gauge interactions of pure gravitational gauge field is studied. It is found that the field equation of gravitational gauge field is just the Einstein's field equation. After that, the gravitational interactions of scalar field, Dirac field and vector fields are studied, …
Gravitational waves deliver information in exquisite detail about astrophysical phenomena, among them the collision of two black holes, a system completely invisible to the eyes of electromagnetic telescopes. Models that predict gravitational wave signals from likely sources are crucial for the success of this endeavor. Modeling binary black hole sources of gravitational radiation requires solving the Eintein equations of General Relativity using powerful computer hardware and sophisticated numerical algorithms. This proceeding presents where we are in understanding ground-based gravitational …
We show how a suitably prepared set of clocks can be used to determine all components of the gravitational field in General Relativity. We call such an experimental setup a clock compass, in analogy to the usual gravitational compass. Particular attention is paid to the construction of the underlying reference frame. Conceptual differences between the clock compass and the standard gravitational compass, which is based on the measurement of the mutual accelerations between the constituents of a swarm of test bodies, are highlighted. Our results are of direct operational relevance for the setup…
The gravitational radiation degrees of freedom of freedom are described in the framework of the 3+1 decomposition of spacetime. The relationship with eigenfields of the Kidder-Scheel-Teukolsky (KST) equations is established. This relationship is used to fix a parameter in the KST equations which is related to the ordering ambiguity of space derivatives in the Ricci tensor, which is inherent to first order evolution systems, like the ones currently used in Numerical Relativity applications.
In these lectures general relativity is outlined as the classical field theory of gravity, emphasizing physical phenomena rather than mathematical formalism. Dynamical solutions representing traveling waves as well as stationary fields like those of black holes are discussed. Their properties are investigated by studying the geodesic structure of the corresponding space-times, as representing the motion of point-like test particles. The interaction between gravitational, electro-magnetic and scalar fields is also considered.
We report on a systematic study of the dynamics of gravitational waves in full 3D numerical relativity. We find that there exists an interesting regime in the parameter space of the wave configurations: a near-linear regime in which the amplitude of the wave is low enough that one expects the geometric deviation from flat spacetime to be negligible, but nevertheless where nonlinearities can excite unstable modes of the Einstein evolution equations causing the metric functions to evolve out of control. The implications of this for numerical relativity are discussed.
How does one measure the gravitational field? We give explicit answers to this fundamental question and show how all components of the curvature tensor, which represents the gravitational field in Einstein's theory of General Relativity, can be obtained by means of two different methods. The first method relies on the measuring the accelerations of a suitably prepared set of test bodies relative to the observer. The second methods utilizes a set of suitably prepared clocks. The methods discussed here form the basis of relativistic (clock) gradiometry and are of direct operational relevance for…
The next generation of gravitational-wave detectors, conceived to begin operations in the 2030s, will probe fundamental physics with exquisite sensitivity. These observations will measure the equation of state of dense nuclear matter in the most extreme environments in the universe, reveal with exquisite fidelity the nonlinear dynamics of warped spacetime, put general relativity to the strictest test, and perhaps use black holes as cosmic particle detectors. Achieving each of these goals will require a new generation of numerical relativity simulations that will run at scale on the supercomput…
We present a Bayesian data analysis pipeline for testing GR using gravitational wave signals from coalescing compact binaries, and in particular binary neutron stars. In this study, we investigate its performance when sources with spins are taken into account.
It has been shown recently that within the framework of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity (TEGR) it is possible to define the energy density of the gravitational field. The TEGR amounts to an alternative formulation of Einstein's general relativity, not to an alternative gravity theory. The localizability of the gravitational energy has been investigated in a number of space-times with distinct topologies, and the outcome of these analises agree with previously known results regarding the exact expression of the gravitational energy, and/or with the specific properties of the s…
Any modification on gravity would affect not only gravitational wave (GW) generation but also GW propagation. Therefore, tests of general relativity (GR) with only GW generation or GW propagation will lead to an overestimate for deviations. Here we try to use one set of parameters to parameterize the modifications on both GW generation and GW propagation and then test GR with GW150914. In our simplest case, we find that graviton mass $μ<6.3\times10^{-23}{\rm eV/c^2}$ at $90\%$ C.L. and there are no deviations from GR at $90\%$ C.L..
In an extended, new form of general relativity, which is a teleparallel theory of gravity, we examine the energy-momentum and angular momentum carried by gravitational wave radiated from Newtonian point masses in a weak-field approximation. The resulting wave form is identical to the corresponding wave form in general relativity, which is consistent with previous results in teleparallel theory. The expression for the dynamical energy-momentum density is identical to that for the canonical energy-momentum density in general relativity up to leading order terms on the boundary of a large sphere …
For slowly spinning matter the rate of energy loss via radiation of gravitational waves is estimated in General Relativity (GR) within a generally covariant superenergy approach. This estimation differs from Einstein's Quadrupole Formula (EQF) by a suppression factor ($Π\ll1$). For a symmetric two-body-like distribution of scalar matter $Π$ is estimated to be $\ll(v/c)^2(r/R)^2$, where $v$ is orbital velocity of the bodies, $c$ - velocity of light, $r$ - radius of each body, and $R$ -- the inter-body distance. This contradiction with EQF is briefly discussed.
Our understanding of observed Gravitational Waves (GWs) comes from matching data to known signal models describing General Relativity (GR). These models, expressed in the post-Newtonian formalism, contain the mathematical constant $π$. Allowing $π$ to vary thus enables a strong, universal and generalisable null test of GR. From a population of 22 GW observations, we make an astrophysical measurement of $π=3.115^{+0.048}_{-0.088}$, and prefer GR as the correct theory of gravity with a Bayes factor of 321. We find the variable $π$ test robust against simulated beyond-GR effects.
Models of gravitational waveforms from coalescing black-hole binaries play a crucial role in the efforts to detect and interpret the signatures of those binaries in the data of large-scale interferometers. Here we summarize recent models that combine information both from analytical approximations and numerical relativity. We briefly lay out and compare the strategies employed to build such complete models and we recapitulate the errors associated with various aspects of the modelling process.
We discuss the potential of the advanced ground-based gravitational-wave detectors such as LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA to detect generic deviations of gravitational waveforms from the predictions of general relativity. We use the parameterized post-Einsteinian formalism to characterize the deviations, and assess what magnitude of deviations are detectable by using an approximate decision scheme based on Bayesian statistics. We find that there exist detectable regions of the parameterized post-Einsteinian parameters for different binary masses from the observation of a single gravitational wave even…
Even if Einstein's General Relativity achieved a great success and overcame lots of experimental tests, it also showed some shortcomings and flaws which today advise theorists to ask if it is the definitive theory of gravity. In this essay we show that, if advanced projects on the detection of Gravitational Waves (GWs) will improve their sensitivity, allowing to perform a GWs astronomy, accurate angular and frequency dependent response functions of interferometers for GWs arising from various Theories of Gravity, i.e. General Relativity and Extended Theories of Gravity, will be the definitive …
We provide a covariant derivation of plasma physics coupled to gravitation by utilizing the 3+1 formulation of general relativity, including a discussion of the Lorentz force law. We then reduce the system to the spherically symmetric case and show that all regions of the spacetime can be represented in a single coordinate system, thus revoking the need for junction conditions. We further show that the region exterior to the collapsing region is naturally described by the charged Vaidya spacetime in non-null coordinates.
Even if Einstein's General Relativity achieved a great success and overcame lots of experimental tests, it also showed some shortcomings and flaws which today advise theorists to ask if it is the definitive theory of gravity. In this proceeding paper it is shown that, if advanced projects on the detection of Gravitational Waves (GWs) will improve their sensitivity, allowing to perform a GWs astronomy, accurate angular and frequency dependent response functions of interferometers for GWs arising from various Theories of Gravity, i.e. General Relativity and Extended Theories of Gravity, will be …
We present the first numerical-relativity simulation of a compact-object binary whose gravitational waveform is long enough to cover the entire frequency band of advanced gravitational-wave detectors, such as LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA, for mass ratio 7 and total mass as low as $45.5\,M_\odot$. We find that effective-one-body models, either uncalibrated or calibrated against substantially shorter numerical-relativity waveforms at smaller mass ratios, reproduce our new waveform remarkably well, with a negligible loss in detection rate due to modeling error. In contrast, post-Newtonian inspiral wavef…
A numerical-relativity calculation yields in general a solution of the Einstein equations including also a radiative part, which is in practice computed in a region of finite extent. Since gravitational radiation is properly defined only at null infinity and in an appropriate coordinate system, the accurate estimation of the emitted gravitational waves represents an old and non-trivial problem in numerical relativity. A number of methods have been developed over the years to "extract" the radiative part of the solution from a numerical simulation and these include: quadrupole formulas, gauge-i…
The production of a stochastic background of relic gravitational waves is well known in various works in the literature, where, using the so called adiabatically-amplified zero-point fluctuations process it has been shown how the standard inflationary scenario for the early universe can in principle provide a distinctive spectrum of relic gravitational waves. In this paper, it is shown that a weak modification of General Relativity produces a third massive polarization of gravitational waves and the primordial production of this polarization is analysed adapting the adiabatically-amplified zer…
We review the tests of general relativity that will become possible with space-based gravitational-wave detectors operating in the ~0.01mHz - 1Hz low-frequency band. The fundamental aspects of gravitation that can be tested include the presence of additional gravitational fields other than the metric; the number and tensorial nature of gravitational-wave polarization states; the velocity of propagation of gravitational waves; the binding energy and gravitational-wave radiation of binaries, and therefore the time evolution of binary inspirals; the strength and shape of the waves emitted from bi…
We consider the so-called semiclassical variant of general relativity, where gravitational field is not quantized but matter is quantized, for the simplest composite quantum body - a hydrogen atom. We create a stationary electron quantum state in the atom in the absence of gravitational field and study its time evolution in the presence of the field, using the local Lorentz invariance property of spacetime. It is shown that this state with a definite energy in the absence of gravitational field is not anymore a stationary state in the field. Therefore, quantum measurements of passive gravitati…
Assuming that general relativity is the correct theory of gravity in the strong field limit, can gravitational wave observations distinguish between black hole and other compact object sources? Alternatively, can gravitational wave observations provide a test of one of the fundamental predictions of general relativity? Here we describe a definitive test of the hypothesis that observations of damped, sinusoidal gravitational waves originated from a black hole or, alternatively, that nature respects the general relativistic no-hair theorem. For astrophysical black holes, which have a negligible …
This paper examines the historical controversy over whether gravitationally bound systems, such as binary stars, experienced orbital damping due to the emission of gravitational radiation, focusing especially on the period of the 1950s, but also discussing the work of Einstein and Rosen in the 1930s on cylindrical gravitational waves and the later quadrupole formula controversy.
This document proposes data formats to exchange numerical relativity results, in particular gravitational waveforms. The primary goal is to further the interaction between gravitational-wave source modeling groups and the gravitational-wave data-analysis community. We present a simple and extendable format which is applicable to various kinds of gravitational wave sources including binaries of compact objects and systems undergoing gravitational collapse, but is nevertheless sufficiently general to be useful for other purposes.
The extraction of the gravitational wave signal, within the context of a characteristic numerical evolution is revisited. A formula for the gravitational wave strain is developed and tested, and is made publicly available as part of the PITT code within the Einstein Toolkit. Using the new strain formula, we show that artificial non-linear drifts inherent in time integrated waveforms can be reduced for the case of a binary black hole merger configuration. For the test case of a rapidly spinning stellar core collapse model, however, we find that the drift must have different roots.
We consider the propagation of massive-particle de Broglie waves in a static, isotropic metric in general relativity. We demonstrate the existence of an index of refraction that governs the waves and that has all the properties of a classical index of refraction. We confirm our interpretation with a WKB solution of the general-relativistic Klein-Gordon equation. Finally, we make some observations on the significance of the optical action.
Recently, in Phys. Rev. D 98, 084002 (2018), an investigation was carried out on the gravitational radiation from binary systems in conformal gravity and massive conformal gravity. According to the authors of the paper, these two theories differ only by the sign of a parameter in the matter action of a general conformal theory. For a negative parameter the general conformal theory indeed corresponds to conformal gravity. However, here, we argue that for a positive parameter the general conformal theory does not correspond to massive conformal gravity.
The detections of gravitational-wave (GW) signals from compact binary coalescence by ground-based detectors have opened up the era of GW astronomy. These observations provide opportunities to test Einstein's general theory of relativity at the strong-field regime. Here we give a brief overview of the various GW-based tests of General Relativity (GR) performed by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration on the detected GW events to date. After providing details for the tests performed in four categories, we discuss the prospects for each test in the context of future GW detectors. The four categories of te…
Einstein established the theory of general relativity and the corresponding field equation in 1915 and its vacuum solutions were obtained by Schwarzschild and Kerr for, respectively, static and rotating black holes, in 1916 and 1963, respectively. They are, however, still playing an indispensable role, even after 100 years of their original discovery, to explain high energy astrophysical phenomena. Application of the solutions of Einstein's equation to resolve astrophysical phenomena has formed an important branch, namely relativistic astrophysics. I devote this article to enlightening some of…
We present a brief review of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity and analyse the expression for the centre of mass density of the gravitational field. This expression has not been sufficiently discussed in the literature. One motivation for the present analysis is the investigation of the localization of dark energy in the three-dimensional space, induced by a cosmological constant in a simple Schwarzschild-de Sitter space-time. We also investigate the gravitational centre of mass density in a particular model of dark matter, in the space-time of a point massive particle and in a…
The Thomas-Fermi model is extended at finite temperature, to describe the gravitational phase transition occurring in massive fermionic systems in a general-relativistic framework. It is shown that, when a nondegenerate fermionic gas (for $N < N_{OV}$, where $N_{OV}$ is the Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit) is cooled down below a critical temperature, a condensed phase emerges and the gravitational collapse is prevented by quantum mechanics. If $N > N_{OV}$, by contrast, the system is destined to collapse towards a Black Hole because no equilibrium states exist.
We introduce a novel test of General Relativity in the strong-field regime of a binary black hole coalescence. Combining information coming from Numerical Relativity simulations of coalescing black hole binaries with a Bayesian reconstruction of the gravitational wave signal detected in LIGO-Virgo interferometric data, allows one to test theoretical predictions for the instantaneous gravitational wave frequency measured at the peak of the gravitational wave signal amplitude. We present the construction of such a test and apply it on the first gravitational wave event detected by the LIGO and V…
Path integral quantization of quantum gauge general relativity is discussed in this paper. First, we deduce the generating functional of green function with external fields. Based on this generating functional, the propagators of gravitational gauge field and related ghost field are deduced. Then, we calculate Feynman rules of various interaction vertices of three or four gravitational gauge fields and vertex between ghost field and gravitational gauge field. Results in this paper are the bases of calculating vacuum polarization of gravitational gauge field and vertex correction of gravitation…
Solving Einstein's equations precisely for strong-field gravitational systems is essential to determining the full physics content of gravitational wave detections. Without these solutions it is not possible to infer precise values for initial and final-state system parameters. Obtaining these solutions requires extensive numerical simulations, as Einstein's equations governing these systems are much too difficult to solve analytically. These difficulties arise principally from the curved, non-linear nature of spacetime in general relativity. Developing the numerical capabilities needed to pro…
Gravitational wave memory is an important prediction of general relativity. The detection of the gravitational wave memory can be used to test general relativity and to deduce the property of the gravitational wave source. Quantitative model is important for such detection and signal interpretation. Previous works on gravitational wave memory always use the energy flux of gravitational wave to calculate memory. Such relation between gravitational wave energy and memory has only been validated for post-Newtonian approximation. The result of numerical relativity about gravitational wave memory i…
Qualitativ arguments are presented which show the incompatibility of the positive results obtaned in experiments on the gravitational redshift of photones and in experiments investigating the behavior of clocks in the gravitational field.
Durgapal's fifth isotropic solution describing spherically symmetric and static matter distribution is extended to an anisotropic scenario. To do so we employ the gravitational decoupling through the minimal geometric deformation scheme. This approach allows to split Einstein's field equations in two simply set of equations, one corresponding to the isotropic sector and other to the anisotropic sector described by an extra gravitational source. The isotropic sector is solved by the Dugarpal's model and the anisotropic sector is solved once a suitable election on the minimal geometric deformati…
In this Letter we show that multiband observations of stellar-mass binary black holes by the next generation of ground-based observatories (3G) and the space-based Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) would facilitate a comprehensive test of general relativity by simultaneously measuring all the post-Newtonian (PN) coefficients. Multiband observations would measure most of the known PN phasing coefficients to an accuracy below a few percent---two orders-of-magnitude better than the best bounds achievable from even `golden' binaries in the 3G or LISA bands. Such multiparameter bounds would…
We review the experimental evidence for Einstein's special and general relativity. A variety of high precision null experiments verify the weak equivalence principle and local Lorentz invariance, while gravitational redshift and other clock experiments support local position invariance. Together these results confirm the Einstein Equivalence Principle which underlies the concept that gravitation is synonymous with spacetime geometry, and must be described by a metric theory. Solar system experiments that test the weak-field, post-Newtonian limit of metric theories strongly favor general relati…
The stochastic cosmological gravitational-wave background (CGWB) provides a direct window to study early universe phenomena and fundamental physics. With the proposed third-generation ground-based gravitational wave detectors, Einstein Telescope (ET) and Cosmic Explorer (CE), we might be able to detect evidence of a CGWB. However, to dig out these prime signals would be a difficult quest as the dominance of the astrophysical foreground from compact-binary coalescence (CBC) will mask this CGWB. In this paper, we study a subtraction-noise projection method, making it possible to reduce the resid…
