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1. Confronting general relativity with principal component analysis: Simulations and results from GWTC-3 events

   https://doi.org/10.1103/c1sj-jc4v  

   Mahapatra, Parthapratim; Datta, Sayantani; Gupta, Ish; Roy, Poulami Dutta; Saleem, Muhammed; Narayan, Purnima; Roy, Soumen; Steinhoff, Jan; Shoemaker, Deirdre; Weinstein, Alan J; et al (November 2025, Physical Review D)

   We present a comprehensive assessment of multiparameter tests of general relativity (GR) in the inspiral regime of compact binary coalescences using principal component analysis (PCA). Our analysis is based on an extensive set of simulated gravitational-wave (GW) signals, including both general relativistic and non-GR sources, injected into zero-noise data colored by the noise power spectral densities of the LIGO and Virgo GW detectors at their designed sensitivities. We evaluate the performance of PCA-based methods in the context of two established frameworks: and . For GR-consistent signals, we find that PCA enables stringent constraints on potential deviations from GR, even in the presence of multiple free parameters. Applying the method to simulated signals that explicitly violate GR, we demonstrate that PCA is effective at identifying such deviations. We further test the method using numerical relativity waveforms of eccentric binary black hole systems and show that missing physical effects—such as orbital eccentricity—can lead to apparent violations of GR if not properly included in the waveform models used for analysis. Finally, we apply our PCA-based test to selected real gravitational-wave events from GWTC-3, including GW190814 and GW190412. We present joint constraints from selected binary black hole events in GWTC-3, finding that the 90% credible bound on the most informative PCA parameter is ${0.03}_{-0.08}^{+0.08}$in the framework and $-0.01_{-0.04}^{+0.05}$in the framework, both of which are consistent with GR. These results highlight the sensitivity and robustness of the PCA-based approach and demonstrate its readiness for application to future observational data from the fourth observing runs of LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA. 

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2. Effect of ignoring eccentricity in testing general relativity with gravitational waves

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.108.064003  

   Narayan, Purnima; Johnson-McDaniel, Nathan K.; Gupta, Anuradha (September 2023, Physical Review D)

   Detections of gravitational waves emitted from binary black hole coalescences allow us to probe the strong-field dynamics of general relativity (GR). One can compare the observed gravitational-wave signals with theoretical waveform models to constrain possible deviations from GR. Any physics that is not included in these waveform models might show up as apparent GR deviations. The waveform models used in current tests of GR describe binaries on quasicircular orbits, since most of the binaries detected by ground-based gravitational-wave detectors are expected to have negligible eccentricities. Thus, a signal from an eccentric binary in GR is likely to show up as a deviation from GR in the current implementation of these tests. We study the response of four standard tests of GR to eccentric binary black hole signals with the forecast O4 sensitivity of the LIGO-Virgo network. Specifically, we consider two parametrized tests (TIGER and FTI), the modified dispersion relation test, and the inspiral-merger-ringdown consistency test. To model eccentric signals, we use nonspinning numerical relativity simulations from the SXS catalog with three mass ratios (1, 2, 3), which we scale to a redshifted total mass of 80M⊙ and luminosity distance of 400 Mpc. For each of these mass ratios, we consider signals with eccentricities of ∼0.05 and ∼0.1 at 17 Hz. We find that signals with larger eccentricity lead to very significant false GR deviations in most tests while signals having smaller eccentricity lead to significant deviations in some tests. For the larger eccentricity cases, one would even get a deviation from GR with TIGER at ∼90% credibility at a distance of ≳1.5 Gpc. Thus, it will be necessary to exclude the possibility of an eccentric binary in order to make any claim about detecting a deviation from GR. 

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3. Relativistic Corrections in White Dwarf Asteroseismology

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acd446  

   Boston, S Reece; Evans, Charles R; Clemens, J Christopher (July 2023, The Astrophysical Journal)

   With the precision now afforded by modern space-based photometric observations from the retired K2 and current TESS missions, the effects of general relativity (GR) may be detectable in the light curves of pulsating white dwarfs (WDs). Almost all WD models are calculated using a Newtonian description of gravity and hydrodynamics. To determine if the inclusion of GR leads to observable effects, we used idealized models of compact stars and made side-by-side comparisons of mode periods computed using a: (i) Newtonian and (ii) GR description of the equilibrium structure and nonradial pulsations. For application to WDs, it is only necessary to include the first post- Newtonian (1PN) approximation to GR. The mathematical nature of the linear nonradial pulsation problem is then qualitatively unchanged and the GR corrections can be written as extensions of the classic Dziembowski equations. As such, GR effects might easily be included in existing asteroseismology codes. The idealized stellar models are (i) 1PN relativistic polytropes and (ii) stars with a cold degenerate electron equation of state featuring a near-surface chemical transition from μe = 2 to μe = 1, simulating a surface hydrogen layer. A comparison of Newtonian and 1PN normal mode periods reveals fractional differences in the order of the surface gravitational redshift z. For a typical WD, this fractional difference is ∼10−4 and is greater than the period uncertainty σΠ/Π of many WD pulsation modes observed by TESS. Consistent theoretical modeling of periods observed in these stars should, in principle, include GR effects to 1PN order. 

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4. The torsion pendulum dual oscillator for low-frequency Newtonian noise detection

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0145092  

   Chua, S. S.; Holland, N. A.; Forsyth, P. W.; Kulur Ramamohan, A.; Zhang, Y.; Wright, J.; Shaddock, D. A.; McClelland, D. E.; Slagmolen, B. J. (May 2023, Applied Physics Letters)

   We present a torsion pendulum dual oscillator sensor designed toward the direct detection of Newtonian noise. We discuss the sensitivity limitations of the system, experimental performance characterization results, and prospectives to improve performance. The sensor is being developed to contribute to the mitigation of Newtonian noise impacts in the sensitivities of next generation terrestrial gravitational-wave detectors. 

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5. Please Repeat: Strong Lensing of Gravitational Waves as a Probe of Compact Binary and Galaxy Populations

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac58f8  

   Xu, Fei; Ezquiaga, Jose María; Holz, Daniel E. (April 2022, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract Strong gravitational lensing of gravitational wave sources offers a novel probe of both the lens galaxy and the binary source population. In particular, the strong lensing event rate and the time-delay distribution of multiply imaged gravitational-wave binary coalescence events can be used to constrain the mass distribution of the lenses as well as the intrinsic properties of the source population. We calculate the strong lensing event rate for a range of second- (2G) and third-generation (3G) detectors, including Advanced LIGO/Virgo, A+, Einstein Telescope (ET), and Cosmic Explorer (CE). For 3G detectors, we find that ∼0.1% of observed events are expected to be strongly lensed. We predict detections of ∼1 lensing pair per year with A+, and ∼50 pairs per year with ET/CE. These rates are highly sensitive to the characteristic galaxy velocity dispersion, σ * , implying that observations of the rates will be a sensitive probe of lens properties. We explore using the time-delay distribution between multiply imaged gravitational-wave sources to constrain properties of the lenses. We find that 3G detectors would constrain σ * to ∼21% after 5 yr. Finally, we show that the presence or absence of strong lensing within the detected population provides useful insights into the source redshift and mass distribution out to redshifts beyond the peak of the star formation rate, which can be used to constrain formation channels and their relation to the star formation rate and delay-time distributions for these systems. 

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