2025/03/05 by Shayarneel Kundu, Kundu, Shayarneel, Philip Schuster +3 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #FOS: Physical sciences #General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) #High Energy Physics - Phenomenology (hep-ph) #High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th) #Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories #Pulsars and Gravitational Waves Research
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2503.03817
openalex publication_date 2025/03/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We consider the possibility that gravity is mediated by "continuous spin" particles, i.e.~ massless particles whose invariant spin scale ρg is non-zero. In this case, the primary helicity-2 modes of gravitational radiation on a Minkowski background mix with a tower of integer-helicity partner modes under boosts, with ρg controlling the degree of mixing. We develop a formalism for coupling spinless matter to continuous spin gravity at linearized level. Using this formalism, we calculate the time-delay signatures induced by gravitational waves in an idealized laser interferometer detector. The fractional deviation from general relativity predictions is O(ρg/ω) for gravitational wave frequencies ω>ρg, and the effects of waves with ω\lesssim ρg are damped. The precision and low frequency ranges of gravitational wave detectors suggest potential sensitivity to spin scales at or below ∼ 10-14 eV at ground-based laser interferometers and ∼ 10-24 eV at pulsar timing arrays, motivating further analysis of observable signatures.