Astrometric Effects of Gravitational Wave Backgrounds with non-Luminal Propagation Speeds
Abstract
A passing gravitational wave causes a deflection in the apparent astrometric positions of distant stars. The effect of the speed of the gravitational wave on this astrometric shift is discussed. A stochastic background of gravitational waves would result in a pattern of astrometric deflections which are correlated on large angular scales. These correlations are quantified and investigated for backgrounds of gravitational waves with sub- and super-luminal group velocities. The statistical properties of the correlations are depicted in two equivalent and related ways: as correlation curves and as angular power spectra. Sub-(super-)luminal gravitational wave backgrounds have the effect of enhancing (suppressing) the power in low-order angular modes. Analytical representations of the redshift-redshift and redshift-astrometry correlations are also derived. The potential for using this effect for constraining the speed of gravity is discussed.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1911.10356,
title = {Astrometric Effects of Gravitational Wave Backgrounds with non-Luminal Propagation Speeds},
author = {Deyan P. Mihaylov and Christopher J. Moore and Jonathan Gair and Anthony Lasenby and Gerard Gilmore},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1911.10356},
year = {2020}
}
Comments
14 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review D