Strong Lensing of Gravitational Waves as Seen by LISA

M. Sereno, A. Sesana, A. Bleuler, Ph. Jetzer, M. Volonteri, and M. C. Begelman
Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 251101 – Published 13 December 2010

Abstract

We discuss strong gravitational lensing of gravitational waves from the merging of massive black hole binaries in the context of the LISA mission. Detection of multiple events would provide invaluable information on competing theories of gravity, evolution and formation of structures and, possibly, constraints on H0 and other cosmological parameters. Most of the optical depth for lensing is provided by intervening massive galactic halos, for which wave optics effects are negligible. Probabilities to observe multiple events are sizable for a broad range of formation histories. For the most optimistic models, up to 4 multiple events with a signal to noise ratio 8 are expected in a 5-year mission. Chances are significant even for conservative models with either light (60%) or heavy (40%) seeds. Because of lensing amplification, some intrinsically too faint signals are brought over threshold (2 per year).

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  • Received 21 September 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.251101

© 2010 The American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

M. Sereno1,2,*, A. Sesana3, A. Bleuler4, Ph. Jetzer4, M. Volonteri5, and M. C. Begelman6

  • 1Dipartimento di Fisica, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
  • 2INFN, Sezione di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125, Torino, Italy
  • 3Max Planck Institute for Gravitationalphysik (Albert Einstein Institute), Am Mühlenberg, 14476, Golm, Germany
  • 4Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
  • 5Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
  • 6JILA, 440 UCB, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0440, USA

  • *mauro.sereno@polito.it

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Vol. 105, Iss. 25 — 17 December 2010

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