Probing small-scale power spectrum with gravitational-wave diffractive lensing

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new method using gravitational-wave diffractive lensing to probe small-scale matter distribution, enabling insights into primordial black holes and axion minihalos with upcoming detectors.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach linking gravitational-wave lensing to matter power spectrum measurement at subgalactic scales, with a model-independent framework for analysis.

Findings

Probes matter power spectrum at scales $k=10^5$ to $10^8$ Mpc$^{-1}$.

Detects primordial black holes with masses $>10^{-3} M_\ ext{\odot}$ and axion minihalos.

Provides a statistical framework based on Fresnel number for lensing analysis.

Abstract

We develop a novel way to probe subgalactic-scale matter distribution with diffractive lensing on gravitational waves. Five-year observations from Einstein Telescope and DECIGO are expected to probe $k= 10^5\sim 10^8 \,{\rm Mpc}^{-1}$ down to $P(k) = 10^{-16} \sim 10^{-14} \,{\rm Mpc}^3$ level. These results can be interpreted in terms of primordial black holes in the range $M_{\rm PBH} \gtrsim 10^{-3}M_\odot$ down to $f_{\rm PBH} = 10^{-6}$ level, or QCD axion minihalos in the range $m_a = 10^{-3} \sim 10^{-12} \,{\rm eV}$. A key result of the paper is the approximate relation between the scale $k$ and the gravitational wave frequency $f$, derived in an ensemble of `multi-lensing' events. This relation enables direct measurement of the power spectrum at specific scales, with sensitivities characterized by model-independent kernels $\delta P(k)$. Additionally, we delineate the statistical properties of `multi-lensing' based on the `Fresnel number' $N_F$. When $N_F \gtrsim {\cal O}(1)$, the statistical significance can be approximately calculated by Variance of lensing effects, which is directly related to the power spectrum among other moments of matter distribution.