Effect of Blue-Shifted GWs on Particles

Join the discussion
Registration is free. Start your own thread to ask a follow-up.
1 reply · 2K views
Gravitoastronomy
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
I assume that the energy transported by a gravitational wave is dependent on its frequency, just like EM waves. If that is the case, let's imagine a particle traveling at relativistic speeds relative to the lab frame. Let's imagine the interaction of this relativistic particle with a gravitational wave of lab's energy E traveling with speed c and in direction opposite to that of the particle with respect to the lab's frame. With respect to the particle system of reference, the GW will be blue-shifted so its energy could be much higher. Would this high energy interaction produce some effect different to the interaction of a low-energy GW and a "at-rest" particle? Could these hypothetical effects be detected when considering cosmic rays and the sort (ultrarelativistic particles) and background GW interactions?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The intensity increases from "extremely tiny" to "still extremely tiny".

LIGO accelerated to relativistic speeds would see a difference. Particles flying through space don't care. You could hope for particle-graviton interactions, but those would still have negligible impact on the particles for every realistic setup.