Self-phase modulation of spherical gravitational waves

TL;DR

This paper explores how spherical gravitational waves undergo self-phase modulation in flat spacetime with matter, leading to spectral energy dilution, drawing analogies from nonlinear optics.

Contribution

It introduces a criterion for significant spectral energy dilution due to self-phase modulation of gravitational waves in a matter-filled flat spacetime.

Findings

Self-phase modulation causes energy to spread over a larger spectral range.

A specific criterion for significant spectral energy dilution is established.

Analogies with nonlinear optics are used to understand the effect.

Abstract

Self-phase modulation of spherical gravitational wavepackets propagating in a flat space-time in the presence of a tenuous distribution of matter is considered. Analogies with respect to similar effects in nonlinear optics are explored. Self phase modulation of waves emitted from a single source can eventually lead to an efficient energy dilution of the gravitational wave energy over an increasingly large spectral range. An explicit criterium for the occurrence of a significant spectral energy dilution is established.