f(R) gravity constraints from gravitational waves

TL;DR

This paper uses gravitational wave data from LIGO to constrain parameters of $f(R)$ gravity models, focusing on the graviton mass and applying these constraints to specific models like Hu-Sawicki.

Contribution

It introduces a method to constrain $f(R)$ gravity parameters using gravitational wave observations, extending previous constraints on graviton mass to these theories.

Findings

Constraints on $f(R)$ model parameters from gravitational wave data.

A specific parameter range for the Hu-Sawicki model.

Generalization of constraints to other $f(R)$ theories.

Abstract

The recent LIGO observation sparked interest in the field of gravity wave signals. Besides the gravity wave observation the LIGO collaboration used the inspiraling black hole pair to constrain the graviton mass. Unlike general relativity, $f(R)$ theories have a characteristic non-zero mass graviton. We apply the constraint on the graviton mass to viable $f(R)$ models to find the effects on model parameters. We find it possible to constrain the parameter space with the gravity wave based observations. We make a case study for the popular Hu-Sawicki model and find a parameter bracket. The result generalizes to other $f(R)$ theories and can be used to contain the parameter space.