paper

Detecting Lorentz Violations with Gravitational Waves from Black Hole Binaries

arXiv:1709.00940 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.041104

Abstract

Gravitational wave observations have been used to test Lorentz symmetry by looking for dispersive effects that are caused by higher order corrections to the dispersion relation. In this Letter I argue on general grounds that, when such corrections are present, there will also be a scalar excitation. Hence, a smoking-gun observation of Lorentz symmetry breaking would be the direct detection of scalar waves that travel at a speed other than the speed of the standard gravitational wave polarisations or the speed of light. Interestingly, in known Lorentz-breaking gravity theories the difference between the speeds of scalar and tensor waves is virtually unconstrained, whereas the difference between the latter and the speed of light is already severely constrained by the coincident detection of gravitational waves and gamma rays from a binary neutron star merger.

arXiv commentv1: 4 pages; v2: Version accepted for publication in PRL. Note that v1 and PRL submission preceded GW170817 announcement but v2 includes discussion about GW170817, as requested by PRL editor

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