Solar Diffraction of LIGO-Band Gravitational Waves [CEA]

http://arxiv.org/abs/2210.02649


We show that chirping gravitational waves in the LIGO frequency band $f=1 – 5000$ Hz can be gravitationally diffracted by the Sun, due to the coincidence of its Fresnel length $r_F \propto \sqrt{1\, {\rm AU}/f}$ and the solar radius $r_\odot$. This solar diffraction is detectable through its frequency-dependent amplification of the wave, albeit with low event rates. Furthermore, we find that solar diffraction allows probing the inner solar profile with the chirping evolution of frequencies. A similar phenomenon can also help discover non-relativistic wave dark matter, as studied in a sequel. This work not only presents an interesting opportunity with ongoing and future LIGO-band missions but also develops the diffractive lensing of long-wavelength waves in the universe.

Read this paper on arXiv…

S. Jung and S. Kim
Fri, 7 Oct 22
4/62

Comments: 20 pages, 10 figures