Propagation of polarized gravitational waves
Abstract
The propagation of high-frequency gravitational waves can be analyzed using the geometrical optics approximation. In the case of large but finite frequencies, the geometrical optics approximation is no longer accurate, and polarization-dependent corrections at first order in wavelength modify the propagation of gravitational waves via a spin-orbit coupling mechanism. We present a covariant derivation from first principles of effective ray equations describing the propagation of polarized gravitational waves, up to first-order terms in wavelength, on arbitrary spacetime backgrounds. The effective ray equations describe a gravitational spin Hall effect for gravitational waves and are of the same form as those describing the gravitational spin Hall effect of light, derived from Maxwell's equations.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2012.08363,
title = {Propagation of polarized gravitational waves},
author = {Lars Andersson and Jérémie Joudioux and Marius A. Oancea and Ayush Raj},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2012.08363},
year = {2021}
}