1. Testing General Relativity with Low-Frequency, Space-Based Gravitational-Wave Detectors
- Author
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John G. Baker, Shane L. Larson, Jonathan R. Gair, and Michele Vallisneri
- Subjects
data analysis ,black holes ,general relativity ,gravitation ,eLISA ,LISA ,gravitational waves ,Atomic physics. Constitution and properties of matter ,QC170-197 - Abstract
We review the tests of general relativity that will become possible with space-based gravitational-wave detectors operating in the ∼ 10^{-5} – 1 Hz low-frequency band. The fundamental aspects of gravitation that can be tested include the presence of additional gravitational fields other than the metric; the number and tensorial nature of gravitational-wave polarization states; the velocity of propagation of gravitational waves; the binding energy and gravitational-wave radiation of binaries, and therefore the time evolution of binary inspirals; the strength and shape of the waves emitted from binary mergers and ringdowns; the true nature of astrophysical black holes; and much more. The strength of this science alone calls for the swift implementation of a space-based detector; the remarkable richness of astrophysics, astronomy, and cosmology in the low-frequency gravitational-wave band make the case even stronger.
- Published
- 2013
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