Related papers: Detecting Lorentz Violations with Gravitational Wa…
Supermassive black hole binary mergers generate a stochastic gravitational wave background detectable by pulsar timing arrays. While the amplitude of this background is subject to significant uncertainties, the frequency dependence is a…
We study the scintillation produced by time-varying gravitational fields within scalar-tensor theories of gravity. The problem is treated in the geometrical optics approximation for a very distant light source emitting quasi plane…
Unlike traditional electromagnetic measurements, gravitational-wave observations are not affected by crowding and extinction. For this reason, compact object binaries orbiting around a massive black hole can be used as probes of the inner…
We consider the observation of stellar-mass black holes binaries with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Preliminary results based on Fisher information matrix analyses have suggested that gravitational waves from those sources…
Observations of gravitational waves from inspiralling compact binaries using laser-interferometric detectors can provide accurate measures of parameters of the source. They can also constrain alternative gravitation theories. We analyse…
We review the tests of general relativity that will become possible with space-based gravitational-wave detectors operating in the ~0.01mHz - 1Hz low-frequency band. The fundamental aspects of gravitation that can be tested include the…
Recent observations of massive galaxies indicate that they double in mass and quintuple in size between redshift z = 1 and the present, despite undergoing very little star formation, suggesting that galaxy mergers drive the evolution. Since…
In recent years, Lorentz violation (LV) has emerged as a vibrant area of research in fundamental physics. Despite predictions from quantum gravity theories that Lorentz symmetry may break down at Planck-scale energies, which are currently…
Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we…
In this thesis we consider the data analysis problem of detecting gravitational waves emitted by inspiraling binary systems. Detection of gravitational waves will open a new window on the Universe enabling direct detection of systems such…
Within the standard effective field theory of General Relativity, we show that the speed of gravitational waves deviates, ever so slightly, from luminality on cosmological and other spontaneously Lorentz-breaking backgrounds. This effect…
Gravitational waves from precessing binary black holes exhibit new features that are absent in non-precessionary systems. All current waveform models take into account only the modulation of the signal due to precession. In this letter, we…
The first direct detection of gravitational waves may be made through observations of pulsars. The principal aim of pulsar timing array projects being carried out worldwide is to detect ultra-low frequency gravitational waves (f ~ 10^-9 to…
It is standard practice to study the lensing of gravitational waves (GW) using the geometric optics regime. However, in many astrophysical configurations this regime breaks down as the wavelength becomes comparable to the Schwarzschild…
Assuming that the short gamma-ray burst detected by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope about 0.4 seconds after the gravitational waves observed by the LIGO and VIRGO Collaborations originated from the same black hole merger event, we…
Gravitational wave detectors are formidable tools to explore strong-field gravity, especially black holes and neutron stars. These compact objects are extraordinarily efficient at producing electromagnetic and gravitational radiation. As…
The gravitational waves (GWs) from a binary black hole (BBH) with masses between 10^4 and 10^7 Msun can be detected with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) once their orbital frequency exceeds 10^-4 - 10^-5 Hz. The binary…
Ten short years ago, we had the rare privilege of witnessing the onset of a renaissance in science: humanity finally succeeded in its arduous quest to directly detect gravitational waves. This breakthrough did not occur in a vacuum: it was…
We present the first results in a new program intended to make the best use of all available technologies to provide an effective understanding of waves from inspiralling black hole binaries in time for imminent observations. In particular,…
In general relativity, gravitational waves propagate at the speed of light, and so gravitons are massless. The masslessness can be traced to symmetry under diffeomorphisms. However, another elegant possibility exists: masslessness can…