New to Graviton & Doppler Shift: Need Help Understanding

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    Doppler Graviton
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of the graviton and its potential behavior, particularly in relation to the Doppler effect. Participants explore the implications of graviton waves and their detection, as well as the relationship between gravity and wave mechanics. The scope includes theoretical considerations and speculative ideas about gravitational waves and their properties.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that if the graviton is a wave, it should exhibit a Doppler shift relative to an observer.
  • Another participant notes that while photons show frequency shifts in gravitational fields, it is uncertain whether gravitons would exhibit similar shifts, and if so, they would likely be very small.
  • A different viewpoint mentions that gravity waves have not been conclusively detected, and interference issues in detectors may relate to deeper principles, such as the holographic principle.
  • One participant speculates that the Doppler shift for gravitons could be detected through gravitational lensing, drawing parallels to sound waves and light redshift.
  • There is a suggestion that disturbances in space caused by matter and gravity should correlate with disturbances in graviton waves.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express various ideas about the graviton and its properties, but there is no consensus on the existence of the graviton or how it might behave in relation to the Doppler effect. Multiple competing views remain, particularly regarding the detection of gravitational waves and the implications of gravitational lensing.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the assumptions made about the existence of gravitons and the nature of gravitational waves. The relationship between gravity, wave mechanics, and the holographic principle remains unresolved.

kevinrichart
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I am new at this so I hope you all will excuse me if I am stupid. But I got this idea about the graviton. If it is a wave then it should display some sort of doppler shift when it moves with respect to the observer.
So there it is , somebody tell me why I am dumb.
 
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kevinrichart said:
But I got this idea about the graviton. If it is a wave then it should display some sort of doppler shift when it moves with respect to the observer.

Welcome to PhysicsForums, kevinrichart!

If the graviton exists (which is an open question), then it is a quantum particle/wave. Photons exhibit a slight frequency shift in the presence of a gravitational field, but I am not sure if gravitons would shift in the presence of a photon or other fields. If it did, it would be extremely small in size. Since gravitons are too weak to be detected individually (assuming they exist), it wouldn't look good for seeing any frequency shift.

Does that answer your question? I am not an expert on graviton theories.
 
if gravity is a wave then it can be described by wave mechanics but no gravity waves have ever been found. The largest detector, which is in Germany, is plagued by interference which cannot be accounted for. However, the frequency range of the interference closely matches predictions relating to the holographic principle, so in their search for gravity they may have unwittingly made a far more fundamental discovery...the pixels of the universe?
 
kevinrichart said:
I am new at this so I hope you all will excuse me if I am stupid. But I got this idea about the graviton. If it is a wave then it should display some sort of doppler shift when it moves with respect to the observer.
So there it is , somebody tell me why I am dumb.

I'm thinking that the doppler shift for the graviton would be detected through gravitational lensing somehow.

With sounds, the doppler shift is due to compressed soundwave as the train approaches you and expanded soundwave as the train leaves you. With light ("red shift"), the same principle applies, only the lightsource moving closer to you appears more bluish, and after it passes you, will appear more reddish.

The presence of matter (and hence gravity/gravitons) determines the structure of space. Therefore, any disturbance of this space must be accounted for by a disturbance of the graviton wave. For this reason, I'd think that the graviton and gravitational lensing are keenly tied for the purpose of detection.

You know what? After re-reading this post of mine, I find that I'm damn good at mastering the obvious!
 

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