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arXiv · 1910.04800

Polarization modes of gravitational waves in Quadratic Gravity

Pratik Wagle·Alexander Saffer·Nicolas Yunes
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Abstract

The observation of the inspiral and merger of compact binaries by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration has allowed for new tests of Einstein's theory in the extreme gravity regime, where gravitational interactions are simultaneously strong, non-linear, and dynamical. Theories beyond Einstein's can also be constrained by detecting the polarization modes of gravitational waves. In this paper, we show that dynamical Chern-Simons and Einstein-dilaton-Gauss-Bonnet gravity cannot be differentiated from general relativity based on the detection of polarization modes alone. To prove this result, we use the Newman-Penrose method and an irreducible decomposition method to find that only the tensorial modes can be detected in both these theories.

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Pratik Wagle, Alexander Saffer, Nicolas Yunes. 2019-10-10. Polarization modes of gravitational waves in Quadratic Gravity. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevd.100.124007

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