Blueshift of light rays induced by gravitational wave memory effect
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
2026-04-15 v1
Abstract
The article deals with photon propagation in pp-wave spacetimes in the strong gravitational-wave regime and its consequences for redshift measurements. We show that null geodesics crossing a localized pp-wave pulse exhibit an energy memory effect, producing a finite asymptotic shift in the photon frequency measured by static observers. This path-dependent contribution acts directly on the redshift observable and may help account for divergent interpretations of supernova redshift data in the presence of intervening gravitational radiation.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2604.12135,
title = {Blueshift of light rays induced by gravitational wave memory effect},
author = {F. L. Carneiro and S. C. Ulhoa and J. W. Maluf},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.12135},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
7 pages, 6 figures