Modeling the Dispersion and Polarization Content of Gravitational Waves for Tests of General Relativity

Understand

We propose a generic, phenomenological approach to modifying the dispersion of gravitational waves, independent of corrections to the generation mechanism.

• This model-independent approach encapsulates all previously proposed parametrizations, including Lorentz violation in the Standard-Model Extension, and provides a roadmap for additional theories.
• Furthermore, we present a general approach to include modulations to the gravitational-wave polarization content.
• The framework developed here can be implemented in existing data analysis pipelines for future gravitational-wave observation runs.