Probing cosmic strings via gravitational-wave lensing
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arXiv
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| Autores principales: | , , , |
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866911465729949696 |
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| author | Bulashenko, Oleg Villanueva, Nino Nerin, Roberto Bada Font, José A. |
| author_facet | Bulashenko, Oleg Villanueva, Nino Nerin, Roberto Bada Font, José A. |
| contents | We present a framework for detecting gravitational-wave signals lensed by cosmic strings (CSs), addressing a key gap in current searches. CSs, whose detection would provide a unique probe of high-energy physics and the early Universe, possess distinct topological and geometric features that require a dedicated search strategy. Our approach employs a full-wave transmission factor, expressed analytically via Fresnel integrals, which captures the characteristic diffraction and interference effects of the conical spacetime around a straight CS. We contrast CS lensing with the well-studied point mass lens (PML) model, highlighting their fundamental differences: CS lensing depends on cosmological distances, string tension $Δ$, and wavelength $λ$, and produces two non-amplified images set by the global conical geometry. In contrast, PML lensing is governed by the distance-independent ratio $\sim M_{Lz}/λ$, where $M_{Lz}$ represents the redshifted mass of the lens, with image properties derived from the lens equation. For BBH mergers lensed by CSs, we show that the waveforms exhibit a characteristic beating pattern or time-separated exact replicas. We derive a detectability bound on the string tension and, using Bayesian model selection, demonstrate that CS lensing is distinguishable from both unlensed and PML-lensed signals across a wide region of parameter space. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_20442 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Probing cosmic strings via gravitational-wave lensing Bulashenko, Oleg Villanueva, Nino Nerin, Roberto Bada Font, José A. General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena We present a framework for detecting gravitational-wave signals lensed by cosmic strings (CSs), addressing a key gap in current searches. CSs, whose detection would provide a unique probe of high-energy physics and the early Universe, possess distinct topological and geometric features that require a dedicated search strategy. Our approach employs a full-wave transmission factor, expressed analytically via Fresnel integrals, which captures the characteristic diffraction and interference effects of the conical spacetime around a straight CS. We contrast CS lensing with the well-studied point mass lens (PML) model, highlighting their fundamental differences: CS lensing depends on cosmological distances, string tension $Δ$, and wavelength $λ$, and produces two non-amplified images set by the global conical geometry. In contrast, PML lensing is governed by the distance-independent ratio $\sim M_{Lz}/λ$, where $M_{Lz}$ represents the redshifted mass of the lens, with image properties derived from the lens equation. For BBH mergers lensed by CSs, we show that the waveforms exhibit a characteristic beating pattern or time-separated exact replicas. We derive a detectability bound on the string tension and, using Bayesian model selection, demonstrate that CS lensing is distinguishable from both unlensed and PML-lensed signals across a wide region of parameter space. |
| title | Probing cosmic strings via gravitational-wave lensing |
| topic | General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics Astrophysics of Galaxies High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.20442 |