Wave-optics gravitational wave lensing in modified gravity
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arXiv
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| Natura: | Preprint |
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2026
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| author | Garoffolo, Alice Tasinato, Gianmassimo |
| author_facet | Garoffolo, Alice Tasinato, Gianmassimo |
| contents | We initiate the study of gravitational-wave lensing in the wave-optics regime within modified gravity. We consider a phenomenological setup in which the gravitational-wave amplitude obeys a curvature-coupled propagation equation. This framework reproduces the standard GR behaviour in the geometric-optics regime, while leading to qualitatively different infrared dynamics. In particular, the usual argument implying that the amplification factor approaches unity in the zero-frequency limit no longer applies. This is due to the persistence of curvature-induced interactions in the infrared, which modify the natural propagation basis itself. As a result, the standard Fresnel treatment ceases to be valid at sufficiently low frequency. The correct infrared regime is instead controlled by an interacting static Green function, with a finite-frequency completion provided by a partial-wave formulation. We show that this structure admits an equivalent distorted-wave interpretation, in which the curvature interaction is absorbed into a dressed reference propagation basis, while the residual lensing effect is encoded in finite-frequency phase shifts. We further demonstrate that these phenomena admit a natural interpretation in the language of scattering amplitudes. Wave-optics lensing can therefore probe propagation-level departures from GR that remain entirely invisible in geometric optics. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_21584 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Wave-optics gravitational wave lensing in modified gravity Garoffolo, Alice Tasinato, Gianmassimo General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Theory We initiate the study of gravitational-wave lensing in the wave-optics regime within modified gravity. We consider a phenomenological setup in which the gravitational-wave amplitude obeys a curvature-coupled propagation equation. This framework reproduces the standard GR behaviour in the geometric-optics regime, while leading to qualitatively different infrared dynamics. In particular, the usual argument implying that the amplification factor approaches unity in the zero-frequency limit no longer applies. This is due to the persistence of curvature-induced interactions in the infrared, which modify the natural propagation basis itself. As a result, the standard Fresnel treatment ceases to be valid at sufficiently low frequency. The correct infrared regime is instead controlled by an interacting static Green function, with a finite-frequency completion provided by a partial-wave formulation. We show that this structure admits an equivalent distorted-wave interpretation, in which the curvature interaction is absorbed into a dressed reference propagation basis, while the residual lensing effect is encoded in finite-frequency phase shifts. We further demonstrate that these phenomena admit a natural interpretation in the language of scattering amplitudes. Wave-optics lensing can therefore probe propagation-level departures from GR that remain entirely invisible in geometric optics. |
| title | Wave-optics gravitational wave lensing in modified gravity |
| topic | General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics High Energy Physics - Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.21584 |