English

Constraining Lorentz and parity violations in gravity with multiband gravitational wave observations

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2026-01-08 v1 Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics

Abstract

This study evaluates the capability of future multi-band observations of gravitational waves emitted from binary black hole coalescences, utilizing joint third-generation ground-based (CE, ET) and space-based (LISA, Taiji, TianQin) detector networks, to constrain parity and Lorentz symmetry violations in the gravitational sector. We model these effects through a parameterized waveform framework that incorporates a set of parameters that quantify potential deviations from general relativity. The frequency-dependence of their effects is described by power-law indices β\beta (i.e., βνˉ\beta_{\bar \nu}, βμˉ\beta_{\bar \mu}, βν\beta_{\nu}, and βμ\beta_{\mu}). By analyzing events such as a high-signal noise ratio (SNR) "golden event" like GW250114 and a massive binary system like GW231123 (total mass 190265M190-265 M_\odot) using two networks of ground- and space-based detectors, we demonstrate that multi-band observations can significantly improve the current constraints on Lorentz and parity violations by several order of magnitude, for both high-frequency (β>0\beta > 0) and low-frequency (β<0\beta < 0) modifications. Our Bayesian analysis reveals that while the exceptional SNR of the GW250114-like event yields superior constraints for high-frequency modifications (β>0\beta > 0), the massive nature of GW231123 provides more stringent limits for low-frequency effects (β<0\beta < 0). This work highlights the critical value of future multi-band gravitational wave astronomy for conducting precision tests of general relativity across diverse binary populations.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2601.03571,
  title  = {Constraining Lorentz and parity violations in gravity with multiband gravitational wave observations},
  author = {Zhi-Xin Jia and Tao Zhu and Zhoujian Cao},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.03571},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

12 pages, 2 figures, and 4 tables

R2 v1 2026-07-01T08:53:42.254Z