Effects of massive spin-2 fields on gravitational wave propagation

TL;DR

This paper investigates how massive spin-2 fields, predicted by extended gravity theories, influence gravitational wave signals and assesses their detectability with current and future detectors.

Contribution

It derives an analytical transfer function for gravitational waves affected by massive spin-2 fields and establishes bounds on their detectability.

Findings

Derived an analytical transfer function in the ultrarelativistic limit

Established detectability bounds for massive spin-2 fields

Forecasted parameter space accessible to gravitational wave detectors

Abstract

Massive spin-2 fields in addition to the standard massless graviton arise naturally in extensions of General Relativity, such as massive bigravity or models with extra dimensions. This work explores the observational signatures of these fields on the propagation of gravitational waves. Adopting a phenomenological framework consistent with such theories, we derive an analytical transfer function in the ultrarelativistic limit and establish detectability bounds. Finally, we provide forecasts for the accessible parameter space using current and future gravitational wave detectors.