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Gravitational Waves:The Physics of Space and Time

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 Gravitational Waves: The Physics of Space and Time
Samir A Hamouda, Salima Y Alwarfaliy, and Fatma Milad Elsharif
Department of physics, University of Benghazi, Libya

Abstract

The electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to gamma rays, has provided us
with the observational data necessary to reach our current understanding of the universe.
However, at present time, medium of observation is relatively limited due to the fact that
some objects in the universe emit little to no light, such as black holes and neutron stars.
For the first time, gravitational-wave scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of
spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at the earth, happening hundreds of
millions of light years away. Physicists have concluded that the detected gravitational
waves were produced during the final fraction of a second of the merger of two black
holes to produce a single, more massive spinning black hole. This collision of two black
holes had been predicted in Albert Einstein‟s 1915 general theory of relativity but never
observed. This new observation has the potential to propel astronomy, physics,
engineering, and quantum optics into a new era by providing an entirely new means of
observing astronomical phenomena and exposes researchers to the interdisciplinary
nature of science.
This paper presents a brief overview of gravitational waves. It also provides an authentic
context for students to learn about astrophysical sources, the detection of gravitational
waves, impact of a gravitational wave on matter, and what can be learned from
gravitational waves.
Keywords: astrophysics, gravitational waves, black holes, electromagnetic spectrum,
gravitational waves detection

1. Introduction:

Gravitational waves are signals from distant objects in the universe that can travel vast
distances. The term Gravitational waves, is a revolutionary new and completely different
way to study the Universe. Unlike light waves, gravitational waves are not blocked or
altered by interactions with matter in the universe. Scientists hope that gravitational
waves will tell us what happens when massive stars collide or explode, will help gaining
knowledge about astrophysics and cosmology, and possibly even about the origins of our
universe.

By the beginning of the 20th century, Newton's law of universal gravitation had been
accepted for more than two hundred years as a valid description of the gravitational force
between masses. In Newton's model, gravity is the result of an attractive force between

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massive objects. Although even Newton was troubled by the unknown nature of that
force, the basic framework was extremely successful at describing motion.

A general relativity theory which is a theory of gravitation was developed by Albert

Einstein in 1915.

G is Einstein tensor, which is basis of the field equations and T is the stress-energy tensor
[1]. G describes shape of space and time, T describes distribution of mass and energy.
The left hand side lives in the world of physics, of matter, and movement. The right hand
sides lives in the world of geometry or mathematics.

T (matter tells space and time to curve) ↔ G (space and time tells matter to move) (see
figure1.).

Figure1. Shows some consequences of Einstein's theory of relativity (gravity) [2].

This is a theory of gravity. A massive object causes space to curve and time to slow
down. These effects manifest themselves as a gravitational force. These distortions of
space and time are most noticeable in the vicinity of large masses or compact objects [2].
From 1958 onwards searches for gravitational waves were conducted, initially with
resonance detectors and from 2002 onwards with laser interferometers.

However, Einstein‟s equation looks simple, but the beautiful geometrical meaning of this
equation is a bit hard to find in most treatments of relativity. There are many nice
popularizations that explain the philosophy behind relativity and the idea of curved
spacetime, but most of them don‟t get around to explaining Einstein‟s equation and

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showing how to work out its consequences. There are also more technical introductions
which explain Einstein‟s equation in detail, but here the geometry is often hidden under
piles of tensor calculus.[3]

2. The Detection of Gravitational Waves

The existence of gravitational waves was first confirmed by observations of the Hulse-
Taylor binary pulsar. This pulsar, discovered in 1974, in orbit around another neutron
star. The orbital period of the binary system decreases as the orbit shrinks due to the
emission of gravitational waves that carry away energy. The measured decrease in orbital
period is in excellent agreement with the prediction of general relativity for the energy
loss due to gravitational waves.
The first direct detection took place in September 2015 when the two LIGO
interferometers (USA) measured the signal of two coalescing black holes. Gravitational
waves, like electromagnetic waves, propagate at the speed of light. Their sources are
accelerated massive bodies. The interaction of gravitational waves with matter is very
weak and their detection therefore extremely difficult.
According to general relativity, the observed gravitational effect between masses results
from their warping of space-time. Experiments and observations show that Einstein's
description of gravitation accounts for several effects of gravity that are unexplained by
Newton's law, such as minute anomalies in the orbits of Mercury and other planets,
gravitational waves, gravitational lensing and an effect of gravity on time known as
gravitational time dilation. Many of these predictions have been confirmed by experiment
or observation, most recently gravitational waves.

Figure 2. Shows the merger of two black holes and the gravitational waves that ripple
outward as the black holes spiral toward each other. The black holes—which represent
those detected by LIGO on December 26, 2015—were 14 and 8 times the mass of the
sun, until they merged, forming a single black hole 21 times the mass of the sun.

Figure. Shows two black holes circulating each other before merge ring [4]

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Figure3. Illustrates some prediction of the General Relativity Theory. Could a black hole
somehow be connected to another part of spacetime, or even some other universe?
General relativity predicts that such connections, called wormholes, can exist for rotating
black holes

Figure3. The so-called wormholes concerning rotating black holes is one prediction of General
relativity [2].

Einstein‟s theory of relativity triggered the most significant advancement in our

understanding of gravity since Newton. Einstein‟s theory proposes that the dimension of
time can be treated much like our three spatial dimensions, which together constitute
spacetime. This spacetime is influenced by the presence of mass in a way similar to a
stretched fabric holding a heavy object. When other massive bodies travel through this
curved region of space, their motions deviate from the normally straight paths, like a ball
rolling on a curved fabric. This analogy can be extended further by considering the rapid
movement of very massive objects on the fabric, which produces ripples traveling
outward from the bodies, as also happens in spacetime. These ripples produced by the
acceleration of massive objects traveling through spacetime are gravitational waves, and
they carry with them a wealth of information about their source (see figure4.).

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 Figure4. Gravitational waves produced by the acceleration of massive objects traveling through
space-time

As these gravitational waves propagate, they exert a periodic expansion and contraction
of the space-time they pass through in directions perpendicular to the direction of travel
[5]. Figure 5. Shows time evolution of a ring of particles influenced by a passing gravitational
wave, where P is the period of the wave [5].

Figure. 5. Time evolution of a ring of particles influenced by a passing gravitational wave, where
P is the period of the wave. Each consecutive panel is a snapshot taken P/4 later in time. In each
figure, both the current state of the ring (black) and the previous state of the ring (gray) are
shown.[5]

Today the vast field of astronomy exists almost entirely within one medium of
observation: electromagnetic radiation. From radio waves to gamma rays, the
electromagnetic spectrum has provided us with the observational data necessary to reach
our current understanding of the universe. However, this restricted view of the universe
has provided us with a relatively limited knowledge of objects that emit little to no light,
such as black holes and neutron stars. To better observe these bodies, we must look to an
alternative cosmic messenger.[5]

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The goal of gravitational-wave detectors is to measure these minuscule vibrations, with
the hope of learning more about their sources. Currently the most sensitive operational
gravitational-wave detectors are based on the Michelson interferometer, which uses the
interference properties of light to make incredibly precise measurements of distances (see
figure 6).

Figure 6. Schematic diagram of the Michelson interferometer, showing the path of the light
beam as it is split and then recombined before entering the photodetector. The dark line on the
beam splitter indicates the reflective coating, and beams reflected from different sides of the
coating have a 180◦ phase difference. This setup is very similar to that used in gravitational-wave
detector technology.[5]

As shown in figure. 6, these detectors split a coherent light beam from a single laser into
two beams. These two beams travel along different paths before recombining and
entering the photodetector. More specifically, the detector is set up in an „L‟ formation,
with a mirror suspended at the end of each arm. A laser emits a beam of light that is in
phase, meaning the peaks and troughs of each light wave are aligned. This original beam
of light is split by the beam splitter. One beam is reflected off of one mirror while the
other beam is reflected off of the other mirror. Once the two beams return to the
beamsplitter they recombine, with some light going back toward the laser while the rest
passes to the photodetector. The beam splitter has a reflective coating on one side of it,
which means that of the two possible paths the light could take to the photodetector, one
has reflected from the glass side of the coating, and the other from the vacuum side.
These two different cases of reflection will result in a 180◦ phase difference. If the
distances traveled by each half of the beam are equal (i.e., the arms are equal in length),
the two light beams will be exactly out of phase and cancel each other out, resulting in all
light traveling back toward the laser and none reaching the photodetector. If instead one
arm is slightly shorter than the other, the light no longer exactly cancels out, and a
nonzero light intensity is measured by the photodetector. The intensity of this light
measured at the detector depends very sensitively on the phase difference of the two
halves of the beam. Thus by monitoring the fluctuations in the intensity of exiting light,
the difference in arm lengths can be determined with incredible accuracy.
This is the underlying principle for the detection of gravitational waves. The three largest

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detectors in the world based on this design make up the LIGO-Virgo Collaboration
(LVC). Figure 7 shows the LVC network, consisting of two detectors in the United States
(located in Hanford, WA and Livingston, LA) with arm lengths of 4 km that make up the
Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), as well as Virgo, a 3 km
detector in Italy.

(a) LIGO Hanford (b) LIGO Livingston (c) LIGO Virgo

Figure 7. The LIGO-Virgo gravitational-wave detector network, consisting of (a) LIGO Hanford, (b)
LIGO Livingston, and (c) Virgo. LIGO Hanford and LIGO Livingston both have 4 km long arms, while
Virgo (Cascina, Italy) has 3 km long arms.

3. Data Analysis

Consider a system of two bodies, each about as massive as the Sun, orbiting about
one another. As the bodies orbit, gravitational waves are emitted with a period that is
proportional to that of the orbit . These waves carry energy away from the system. As the
orbit loses energy, the separation between the two objects must shrink, thereby
decreasing the orbital period. Furthermore, as the bodies get closer together, the second
time derivative of the quadrupole moment varies more rapidly, resulting in an increase in
the gravitational-wave amplitude. This increase in frequency and amplitude continues
until the orbital radius decreases to the point of merger, where the two objects physically
combine to form a single body. Until the time of merger the system is said to be in its
inspiral phase, which is modeled fairly accurately by making small corrections to the
non-general relativistic equations of motion [5]. An example of a gravitational wave
produced during the inspiral phase of such a system is shown in Figure 8.

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Figure 8: Typical gravitional Waveforms expected from coalescing neutron stars (a) detail b), (c)
supernovae, and (d) pulsars [6]

The explanation for why the amplitude increases is more qualitative. The focus is on the
connection between the more extreme curvature of spacetime as the bodies get closer
together and the increase in amplitude of the signal. If the same system is taken, but
compress each object‟s mass into a smaller radius, the inspiral phase would be prolonged.
In this case the orbital radius is able to reach even smaller values before these denser
objects merge, thereby increasing the amplitude and frequency reached by the
gravitational wave before merger. Consequently only binary systems containing the
densest objects in the universe, namely neutron stars and black holes[6],
4. Impact of a gravitational wave on matter

Gravitational waves are produced by masses in accelerated motion, they propagate into
Space and they have a gravitational effect far away from their sources. In a gravitational
field, all particles undergo the same acceleration (at the same position). There is no
relative acceleration between particles. For relative acceleration to occur, particles must
be at different locations with different gravitational fields.
This can be seen when discussing tidal forces. Tidal forces are generated by the
inhomogeneous gravitational field of the moon. The tidal force is a secondary effect of
the force of gravity and it arises because the gravitational force exerted by one body on
another is not constant across it; the nearest side is attracted more strongly than the
farthest side. Thus, the tidal force is differential.
It can be concluded that, the characteristic feature of a gravitational wave is a time-
varying tidal force. To detect a gravitational wave means to detect tidal forces. The above

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argument is formulated within the Newtonian theory of gravity. However, the mass-
independence of gravitational acceleration together with the implication that relative
accelerations are the result of tidal forces is also part of the general theory of relativity so
that the argument is also valid in this framework.[6]
5. What can be learned from Gravitational Waves?

The most dramatic events in the universe in the past decades —the deaths of stars, the
collisions of stellar remnants and giant black holes, the feeding of the monsters in
galactic nuclei —are believed to produce the most electromagnetically luminous objects
in the universe: supernovae, gamma ray bursts, quasars.
The objects involved in these events are worthy of study for three reasons [7]:
(1) Their intrinsic interest and the great distances to which they can be seen,
(2) The impact of the energy they release on the rest of the astronomical universe, and
(3) Most significantly they test our theories of matter and energy in ways we cannot do
on earth.
Such dramatic events involve the most extreme physical conditions in the present
universe: the highest densities of matter and radiation, the highest magnetic fields, the
deepest gravitational fields, the most relativistic bulk motions.
In previous decades, these events have been studied using just the light emitted from
them (plus a couple of dozen marvelous neutrinos from supernova 1987A). This light
comes from atoms and electrons in tenuous gas, generally far removed from the main
action. Because this action is buried deep behind layers of obscuring gas and in deep
gravitational potential wells, the light we can see has given many circumstantial clues,
but the deepest questions remain unanswered [7]
 How and why do some stars explode as supernovae?
 How and when do black holes form in stars and in the centers of galaxies?
 What are the internal ingredients of neutron stars?
 What happens when two white dwarfs merge?

Strong gravitational waves are produced by the rapid motion of massive compact bodies.
The waves encode the history of those motions: exactly the information that has proven
so difficult to obtain electromagnetically. Gravitational waves will provide us with a
detailed look deep into the interiors of the most exotic objects in our Universe.[7]

Advanced Ground-based detectors LIGO will detect high-frequency (HF) gravitational

waves (~10 − 1000Hz). They can detect the merging of neutron stars in black hole and
neutron star binaries at ~50Mpc and ~200Mpc, respectively.(One parsec is equal to about
3.26 light-years (30 trillion km) in length). The ESA-NASA space-based mission LISA
will detect low-frequency (LF) gravitational waves (0.1-10mHz) [7].

6. Conclusion

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 In 1916, Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves as a possible
consequence of his theory of general relativity. Since then much efforts has been invested
in understanding their production in the universe and their significance for Astrophysics
and Cosmology. The mysterious nature of gravitational waves comes largely from the
fact that, unlike other waves, they do not propagate in some material medium, but rather
move as distortions of space and time. Gravitational waves are like sounds that propagate
across the vast empty spaces between stars and galaxies, and the instruments currently
working to detect them will allow us to hear the things that go bump in the Universe, and
allow researchers to learn more about gravitational waves and the technology behind their
detection.

References:

[1] B F Schutz., 2011., “Gravitational Waves, Notes for Lectures at the Azores School on
ObservationalCosmology”.,http://www.aei.mpg.de/~schutz/download/lectures/AzoresCosmology
/Schutz.AzoresOutline.pdf

[2]http://www.google.com.ly/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjr
1ff469nYAhWqIcAKHbKqAfcQFggnMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphysics.gmu.edu%2F~hgelle
r%2Fastr113%2Fch24.ppt&usg=AOvVaw2 rMFrkZuUG0nhMRY7fH3C

[3] John C. Baez. Et. al. ., 2006., “The Meaning of Einstein‟s Equation”
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/10instein/10instein.pdf
[4]https://www.google.com.ly/search?q=photos+of+two+black+holes+circling+each+other&tbm
=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=REUqkjQ7HTLGM%253A%252Crj8sAWgrubtSrM%252C_&us
g=__Ul9OvlXbEhxX6xnmzZAAtnaOaZg%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiq5frV9tnYAhUqDcAK
HQpiAiAQ9QEIPTAK#imgrc=9NzW9L_yLFmwgM:&spf=1516017935489

[5] Benjamin Farr et. al.., 2012., “Gravitational-wave science in the high school classroom”.,
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1109.3720.pdf

[6] Ute Kraus., 2016.,” Gravitational Waves: Models and Experiments on Waveforms, Effects
and Detection” http://www.spacetimetravel.org/gwave16/gwave16_en_w.pdf
[7] E. Sterl Phinney., 2009., “Finding and Using Electromagnetic Counterparts of Gravitational
Wave Sources” https://arxiv.org/pdf/0903.0098.pdf

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