2025A&A...702L..19C -
Astronomy and Astrophysics, volume 702L19 (2025/10-1)
Direct measurements of the speed of gravitational waves using the Decihertz Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory.
CAO S., LIU X., LIU T., BIESIADA M., KAWAMURA S. and ZHU Z.-H.
Abstract (from CDS):
In this Letter, we propose a new model-independent strategy for a direct measurement of the speed of gravitational waves vg based on the DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (DECIGO), a future Japanese space gravitational-wave antenna. Our methodology leverages DECIGO's ability to measure the cosmological distance DL(z) and the cosmic expansion rate H(z) at the same redshift. Each binary neutron star (BNS) inspiral creates a valuable opportunity for a direct measurement of the speed of gravitational waves (GWs) at different redshifts and directions in the sky. In the DECIGO low-frequency band, observation of BNSs during a one-year mission would produce robust measurements of the absolute value of vg with an accuracy at the 10–5 level. Such assessments of vg in the low-frequency domain improve by three orders of magnitude over other direct methods based on ground-based GW detectors (in the high-frequency domain). If General Relativity is not the ultimate theory of gravity, DECIGO will provide the evidence of its failure through a one-year observation of BNS events.
Abstract Copyright:
© The Authors 2025
Journal keyword(s):
gravitational waves
Simbad objects:
4
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