Gravitational Wave Propagation through Viscous Matter
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866914567553024000 |
|---|---|
| author | Kakkat, Vishnu Vinckers, Ulrich K. Beckering Bishop, Nigel T. Kubeka, Amos S. Naidoo, Monos Thattarampilly, Udaykrishna van der Walt, Petrus J. |
| author_facet | Kakkat, Vishnu Vinckers, Ulrich K. Beckering Bishop, Nigel T. Kubeka, Amos S. Naidoo, Monos Thattarampilly, Udaykrishna van der Walt, Petrus J. |
| contents | It has been known that gravitational waves (GWs) transfer energy to viscous matter through which they propagate, but the effect is too weak to be astrophysically significant. Using linearized perturbations about a Minkowski background, we previously showed that the interaction can become important when the distance between matter and source is smaller than the GW wavelength. Here, we review extensions to more realistic backgrounds, namely Schwarzschild spacetime and a static spherically symmetric setting. We find that GW damping and the associated heating of the viscous fluid are enhanced, and can lead to substantial attenuation or even gamma-ray bursts. We investigate astrophysical scenarios where these effects may be relevant, including core-collapse supernovae, binary neutron star mergers, and accretion onto binary black hole mergers. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_14956 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Gravitational Wave Propagation through Viscous Matter Kakkat, Vishnu Vinckers, Ulrich K. Beckering Bishop, Nigel T. Kubeka, Amos S. Naidoo, Monos Thattarampilly, Udaykrishna van der Walt, Petrus J. General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology It has been known that gravitational waves (GWs) transfer energy to viscous matter through which they propagate, but the effect is too weak to be astrophysically significant. Using linearized perturbations about a Minkowski background, we previously showed that the interaction can become important when the distance between matter and source is smaller than the GW wavelength. Here, we review extensions to more realistic backgrounds, namely Schwarzschild spacetime and a static spherically symmetric setting. We find that GW damping and the associated heating of the viscous fluid are enhanced, and can lead to substantial attenuation or even gamma-ray bursts. We investigate astrophysical scenarios where these effects may be relevant, including core-collapse supernovae, binary neutron star mergers, and accretion onto binary black hole mergers. |
| title | Gravitational Wave Propagation through Viscous Matter |
| topic | General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.14956 |