English

Persistent Astrometric Deflections from Gravitational-Wave Memory

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2020-07-27 v1

Abstract

Gravitational waves (GWs) produce small distortions in the observable distribution of stars in the sky. We describe the characteristic pattern of astrometric deflections created by a specific gravitational waveform called a burst with memory. Memory is a permanent, residual distortion of space left in the wake of GWs. We demonstrate that the astrometric effects of GW memory are qualitatively distinct from those of more broadly considered, oscillatory GWs---distinct in ways with potentially far-reaching observational implications. We discuss some such implications pertaining to the random-walk development of memory-induced deflection signatures over cosmological time spans and how those may influence observations of the cosmic microwave background.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2007.12206,
  title  = {Persistent Astrometric Deflections from Gravitational-Wave Memory},
  author = {Dustin R. Madison},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2007.12206},
  year   = {2020}
}

Comments

5 pages. 3 figures. Published in Physical Review Letters on 23 July 2020

R2 v1 2026-06-23T17:21:34.461Z