Exploring the hidden Universe: A novel phenomenological approach for recovering arbitrary gravitational-wave millilensing configurations

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new phenomenological method for analyzing gravitational-wave millilensing that can recover complex lens configurations in a model-independent and computationally efficient manner, advancing gravitational-wave cosmology.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel, model-independent approach for recovering arbitrary gravitational-wave millilensing configurations, overcoming limitations of existing simple lens models.

Findings

Enables recovery of complex lens configurations without extensive modeling

Improves accuracy and efficiency in gravitational-wave lensing analysis

Facilitates studies of dark matter substructures using gravitational waves

Abstract

Since the first detection of gravitational waves in 2015, gravitational-wave astronomy has emerged as a rapidly advancing field that holds great potential for studying the cosmos, from probing the properties of black holes to testing the limits of our current understanding of gravity. One important aspect of gravitational-wave astronomy is the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, where massive intervening objects can bend and magnify gravitational waves, providing a unique way to probe the distribution of matter in the universe, as well as finding applications to fundamental physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. However, current models for gravitational-wave millilensing - a specific form of lensing where small-scale astrophysical objects can split a gravitational wave signal into multiple copies - are often limited to simple isolated lenses, which is not realistic for complex lensing scenarios. In this paper, we present a novel phenomenological approach to incorporate millilensing in data analysis in a model-independent fashion. Our approach enables the recovery of arbitrary lens configurations without the need for extensive computational lens modeling, making it a more accurate and computationally efficient tool for studying the distribution of matter in the universe using gravitational-wave signals. When gravitational-wave lensing observations become possible, our method can provide a powerful tool for studying complex lens configurations, including dark matter subhalos and MACHOs.