引力波、引力波源和引力波探测实验

引力波是爱因斯坦和其他物理学家提出的关于广义相对论的四大预言之一。除了PSR1913＋16引力辐射阻尼的观测提供了引力波存在的间接证据外，科学家至今仍没有在实验室中确证引力波的存在。由于人类目前的技术水平还不可能在实验室中产生强度可供探测的引力波，而宇宙中存在大量大质量，高速运动的天体，有可能产生较强的引力波，天体引力波源自然成为现阶段科学家研究引力波的首选。本文介绍广义相对论框架下预言的引力波性质，引力波探测的理论依据，共振型棒式天线和激光干涉仪两大类探测器的基本原理，引力波探测实验的现状和面临的困难，科学家采取的对策，以及爆发型和连续型两类天体引力波源。最后介绍了正在计划中的几个引力波探测空间实验。     

引力波理论和实验的新进展

引力波的存在是爱因斯坦在广义相对论理论中提出的一个重要预言．由于目前技术水平的限制,无法在实验室产生足以被探测到的引力波,因此宇宙中大量的大质量剧烈活动的天体成为科学家研究引力波的首选,从而诞生了引力波天文学．引力波探测将开启研究宇宙的新窗口,是继电磁辐射、宇宙线和中微子探测后探索宇宙奥秘的又一重要手段,对天文学研究有着极为重要的意义.新一代应用了高灵敏度的迈克耳逊干涉仪装置的长基线引力波探测仪正在建造中．该综述从引力波理论出发,阐述了目前研究较多的可探测引力波源,给出了目前观测上的最新进展,并展望了今后的发展前景．     

引力波与引力波源

引力波爆发事件GW150914的发现,标志着引力波天文学时代的到来,它为人类打开了全新的窗口来研究强引力场、极致密天体、极高能过程、极早期宇宙等极端物理过程和现象。介绍广义相对论中引力波的基本性质、观测效应以及主要的产生机制。并着重介绍宇宙中的几类比较重要的引力波源的主要性质、探测方法,以及探测现状和未来展望。具体包括:旋转的中子星、稳定的双星系统等连续的引力波源,超新星爆发、双星并合等爆发式的引力波源,以及天体物理过程和宇宙暴胀产生的随机引力波背景。     

引力波探测展望

引力波探测展望辛酉１９１６年，爱因斯坦就谈到过引力波问题。在广义相对论领域里，时空的弯曲取代引力。恒星之类的大质量天体对其他天体的影响不是直接对它们起作用而是通过弯曲时空来达到。此外，在这类天体改变其运动或质量时，它周围的时空也会发生相应的扰动，以引...     

OJ 287的引力波辐射研究

类星体OJ 287的研究已经有100多年的历史,它呈现周期性双峰爆发现象,爆发周期为12 yr,比较好地解释观测的模型是双黑洞模型,即次黑洞绕主黑洞运动,并撞击主黑洞吸积盘从而引起爆发.此模型合理地解释了OJ 287的光变曲线并正确预言了未来爆发时间,这间接证明了广义相对论进动效应以及引力波的存在.星系中心大质量黑洞是一类重要的引力波源,而精确确定了其内部组分运动学方程的星系非常少,由于双黑洞模型提供了精确的黑洞运动轨道,故可以在这个运动轨道基础上研究其引力波辐射.在已有工作基础上,采用后牛顿近似方法首次得到了引力波辐射功率和波形随时间的演化关系,根据目前引力波探测设备IPTA(International Pulsar Timing Array)的进展情况,未来十几年内对OJ 287的引力波直接探测将成为可能.     

广义相对论再经考验

爱因斯坦创立广义相对论已经93年了,但是由于它的某些预言（例如引力红移、引力波等）至今没有得到直接验证,科学家们仍在不断设计实验对它进行一轮又一轮“考验”。广义相对论预言,当两个大质量物体靠得很近时,会发出引力波,并使得它们自身的旋转轴产生摆动（物理学上称为“进动”）。人们已经观测到了这种摆动,只是还不足以精确测定其幅度大小。     

引力波和引力波望远镜的发展

简要回顾了广义相对论中相关的引力波理论，讨论了对引力波进行探测的重要意义和几种可能的途径；系统介绍了近50年来国际上对引力波进行探测的主要活动，以及当前几个具有代表性的引力波望远镜工程的进展。     

时空的圆舞曲引力波

2015年9月14日,美国激光干涉引力波天文台(LIGO)捕捉到了距离地球13亿光年外的一对双黑洞并合产生的引力波信号(GW150914)。经过长达数月的数据分析,LIGO团队确证了激光干涉仪在该引力波信号穿过时产生的大约是一亿亿分之一厘米尺度的振荡变化,并于2016年2月11日对外公布了这项惊人发现。这是人类首次直接探测到爱因斯坦广义相对论预言的引力波信号,并证实了双黑洞的存在。引力波探测器为探测宇宙提供了不同于电磁波(光)的全新方法,现在我们不仅能用望远镜“看”缤纷多彩的宇宙,还能用引力波探测器“听”波澜壮阔的宇宙。2017年的诺贝尔物理学奖也因此颁给了对引力波探测作出杰出贡献的三位物理学家:雷纳·韦斯(Rainer Weiss)、基普·索恩(Kip Stephen Thorne)和巴里·巴里什(Barry Clark Barish)。     

LIGO的O1/O2引力波事件对Einstein-aether理论限制能力探讨

广义相对论是继牛顿万有引力理论后,在强引力场、强动态时空区域更精准的引力理论,大量的天文观测验证了广义相对论的正确性。但广义相对论与量子理论在逻辑体系上不相容,广义相对论还存在时空奇点的理论问题,宇宙学中还存在暗物质和暗能量的引力本质问题等。在使用Yunes等人提出的Einstein-aether理论修改引力波模板的基础上,用Fisher Matrix的参数估计法,探讨了几个典型双星系统对修改引力模板的参数估计所能达到的参数估计精度,以及LIGO和VIRGO已经发现的11个双星并合事件应对修改引力的限制能力;最后,使用匹配因子的方法,探讨修改引力的参数对引力波模板的影响。如果Einstein-aether理论只是微小修正广义相对论引力波波形,11个双星引力波事件可以对Einstein-aether理论的3个参数给出限制;如果Einstein-aether理论波形与广义相对论引力波波形存在明显偏离,对Einstein-aether理论的检验需要更仔细的引力波波形研究和数据分析。     

激光干涉仪引力波探测器

引力波的存在是爱因斯坦在广义相对论中提出的一个重要预言,引力波探测是当代物理学最重要的前沿领域之一。经过近半个世纪的艰苦努力,随着几个大型激光干涉仪引力波探测器在21世纪初的出现并于近几年达到前所未有的灵敏度,引力波探测进入了一个崭新的时代。人类有望在第二代地基激光干涉仪引力波探测器开始科学运行(约2015年)之后的几年内,不仅可以直接探测到引力波,更将打开一扇观测宇宙的新窗口。引力波探测也将成为继电磁辐射、宇宙线和中微子之后,人类探索宇宙奥秘的又一重要手段。介绍了激光干涉仪引力波探测器的性能和工作原理,详细分析了其关键部件,如:迈克尔孙干涉仪、法布里–珀罗腔、功率循环系统、激光器、清模器、倒摆、单体几何反弹簧过滤器、真空系统等的结构、性能和工艺特点,展望了其广阔的发展前景。     

A Research on the Gravitational Wave Radiation of OJ 287

The research on quasar OJ 287 has lasted over 100 years. OJ 287 exhibits the phenomenon of periodic two-peak outbursts with the eruptive period of 12 years. Observations are rather well interpreted with the black hole binary model. In this model, the secondary black hole moves around the primary black hole and crashes against the accretion disk of the primary black hole, causing outbursts. This model reasonably explains the light curves of OJ 287 and correctly predicts the time of future outbursts. These indirectly justify the precessional effect of general relativity and the existence of gravitational waves. The massive black hole in the center of galaxy is an important kind of gravitational wave source. However, the number of the galaxies with precisely determined kinematical equations of inner components is quite small. The precise kinematic orbits of black holes are provided by the black hole binary model, so the radiation of gravitational waves can be studied on the basis of these kinematic orbits. Based on the existing work, the evolutionary relations of the radiation power and waveform of gravitational waves with time are first derived by using the post-Newtonian approximation method. According to the current progress of the detection equipment of gravitational waves, i.e., IPTA (International Pulsar Timing Array), the direct detection of gravitational waves from OJ 287 may be possible within the future decade.     

Pulsar timing residuals due to individual non-evolving gravitational wave sources

The pulsar timing residuals induced by gravitational waves from non- evolving single binary sources are affected by many parameters related to the relative positions of the pulsar and the gravitational wave sources. We will analyze the various effects due to different parameters. The standard deviations of the timing residuals will be calculated with a variable parameter fixing a set of other parameters. The or- bits of the binary sources will be generally assumed to be elliptical. The influences of different eccentricities on the pulsar timing residuals will also be studied in detail. We find that the effects of the related parameters are quite different, and some of them display certain regularities.     

The frequencies of high frequency quasi-periodic oscillations in two different frames in black hole LMXBs

We discuss the modes of the Alfve'n waves in the accretion disk with a toroidal magnetic field in black hole low mass X-ray binaries in a rotating frame.By solving the perturbed general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic equations in the rotating frame,we find two stable modes of the Alfve'n wave which are the same as those in the fiducial observer frame.This gives a feasible way to transform between the two different frames,which validates the possible Alfve'n wave modes in the accreting celestial bodies wit...     

Dynamics of oscillating relativistic tori around Kerr black holes

We present a comprehensive numerical study of the dynamics of relativistic axisymmetric accretion tori with a power-law distribution of specific angular momentum orbiting in the background space–time of a Kerr black hole. By combining general relativistic hydrodynamics simulations with a linear perturbative approach we investigate the main dynamical properties of these objects over a large parameter space. The astrophysical implications of our results extend and improve two interesting results that have been recently reported in the literature. First, the induced quasi-periodic variation of the mass quadrupole moment makes relativistic tori of nuclear matter densities, as those formed during the last stages of binary neutron star mergers, promising sources of gravitational radiation, potentially detectable by interferometric instruments. Secondly, p-mode oscillations in relativistic tori of low rest-mass densities could be used to explain high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations observed in X-ray binaries containing a black hole candidate under conditions more generic than those considered so far.     

Gravitational Radiation from Fluctuations in Rotating Neutron Stars

Undamped quasiradial fluctuations of rotating neutron stars and the gravitation radiation generated by them are discussed. Two possible sources of energy for maintaining these fluctuations are mentioned: the energy of deformation of the decelerating neutron star (spin down) and the energy released during a jump in the star's angular velocity (glitch). Expressions are derived for the intensity of the gravitational radiation and the amplitude of a plane gravitational wave for an earthbound observer. Estimates of these quantities are obtained for the Vela and Crab pulsars, for which the secular variation in the angular velocity is most often accompanied by irregular variations. It is shown that gravitational waves from these pulsars could be detected by the new generation of detectors.     

Orbital Decay of a Binary System Consisting of Spin-Down Neutron Stars

{W}e consider the gravitational radiation from two time variable mass stars, orbiting around each other under the influence of gravity. The total rates of the variation of the energy, angular momentum, semimajor axis, eccentricity and orbital period are obtained. The results could be important for the understanding of general relativistic effects in the case of the variation of the gravitational mass due to spinning down of the compact stars, which sensitively depends on the equations of state. The cases of the binary systems PSR 1913+16 and PSR 1534+12 are analyzed in detail, and, for different equations of state of nuclear matter, the corrections to the orbital decay due to gravitational radiation and to the spinning down of the pulsars are calculated. The results show that a future significant improvement in the observational techniques could lead to the observation of the specific general relativistic effect of mass variation of pulsars due to spinning down, via the study of orbital decay, even in slowly rotating binary systems.     

Monopole gravitational waves from relativistic fireballs driving gamma-ray bursts

Einstein's general relativity predicts that pressure, in general stresses, plays a similar role to energy density,  ε=ρ c ²  (with ρ being the corresponding mass density), in generating gravity. The source of gravitational field, the active gravitational mass density, sometimes referred to as Whittaker's mass density, is  ρ_grav=ρ+ 3 p / c ²  , where p is pressure in the case of an ideal fluid. Whittaker's mass is not conserved, hence its changes can propagate as monopole gravitational waves. Such waves can be generated only by astrophysical sources with varying gravitational mass. Here we show that relativistic fireballs, considered in modelling gamma-ray burst phenomena, are likely to radiate monopole gravitational waves from high-pressure plasma with varying Whittaker's mass. Also, ejection of a significant amount of initial mass-energy of the progenitor contributes to the monopole gravitational radiation. We identify monopole waves with   h ¹¹+ h ²²  waves of Eddington's classification which propagate (in the z -direction) together with the energy carried by massless fields. We show that the monopole waves satisfy Einstein's equations, with a common stress-energy tensor for massless fields. The polarization mode of monopole waves is  Φ₂₂  , i.e. these are perpendicular waves which induce changes of the radius of a circle of test particles only (breathing mode). The astrophysical importance of monopole gravitational waves is discussed.     

Evolving interstellar extinction

High brightness temperatures ( T _b) implied by quasar intraday variability may be explained by coherent emission, or else by physically implausible bulk relativistic Lorentz factors Γ ≥ 100. Previous theory asserts that various absorption mechanisms will block escape of such coherent, high-brightness sources. Yet this same theory fails to account for laboratory experiments detecting collective emission. Probably this is because present theory is inadequate, and should not be used to rule out collective radiation processes.     

The Gravitational Effects of a Celestial Body with Magnetic Charge and Moment

The gravitational effects (precession of charge-less particles and deflec-tion of light)in the gravitational field of a celestial body with magnetic charge and moment(CM)are investigated.We found that the magnetic charge always weak-ens the pure Schwarzschild effects,while the magnetic dipole moment deforms the effects in a more complicated way.