Gravitational Wave -- Gauge Field Dynamics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
2017-11-22 v1
Abstract
The dynamics of a gravitational wave propagating through a cosmic gauge field are dramatically different than in vacuum. We show that a gravitational wave acquires an effective mass, is birefringent, and its normal modes are a linear combination of gravitational waves and gauge field excitations, leading to the phenomenon of gravitational wave -- gauge field oscillations. These surprising results provide insight into gravitational phenomena and may suggest new approaches to a theory of quantum gravity.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1706.00431,
title = {Gravitational Wave -- Gauge Field Dynamics},
author = {R. R. Caldwell and C. Devulder and N. A. Maksimova},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1706.00431},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
Awarded Fifth Prize in 2017 Gravity Research Foundation Essay Contest