Stars as resonant absorbers of gravitational waves

TL;DR

Stars can resonate with gravitational waves, absorbing energy and creating detectable shadows, which could influence GW observations and provide new astrophysical insights.

Contribution

This paper introduces the concept of stars acting as resonant absorbers of gravitational waves, revealing potential observational signatures and astrophysical effects.

Findings

Stars can resonate with GWs and grow non-linearly.

Resonant absorption can create detectable GW shadows.

Stars near black hole binaries can influence GW propagation.

Abstract

Quadrupole oscillation modes in stars can resonate with incident gravitational waves (GWs), and grow non-linear at the expense of GW energy. Stars near massive black hole binaries (MBHB) can act as GW-charged batteries, cooling radiatively. Mass-loss from these stars can prompt MBHB accretion at near-Eddington rates. GW opacity is independent of amplitude, so distant resonating stars can eclipse GW sources. Absorption by the Sun of GWs from Galactic white dwarf binaries may be detectable with second-generation space-based GW detectors as a shadow within a complex diffraction pattern.