Until now there is no direct method for detecting gravitational waves, What is the best candidate method that you think its more efficient in detecting these waves.
Both are of the interferometer variety, covering large distances in space (LISA is for solar orbit, little information about Deci-hertz except it goes down to .1 Hz and will not be launched before 2027).
Both look for longer wavelengths and therefore lower frequency. The strongest waves should come out at a fundamental of the orbital period in the case of binary stars. Unfortunately, the shortest orbital periods are still a fraction of an hour. There should be detectable variations during the close approach on the order of a minute, but even Deci-hertz tops out at 10 seconds (i.e. 1/10th Hertz).
Another reason the long wavelength detectors are more promising is that if we are wrong about propagation velocity, and we could be, the wavelengths could be longer than anticipated. Of course, the flip side of this is that if we are wrong about propagation velocity, gravity waves may be in principle undetectable, preserving Special Relativity.
It is a bit of a mystery to me why anyone thinks an interferometer would detect gravitational waves, or any other gravitational variation. Since they are waves of SPACE-TIME, the object should not, in my view, be able to realize that it has been disturbed. It's length, for example, would still have the same proper measure, and no non-inertial motion should be detected. Indeed, if we suspend masses in space separated by the interferometer distance, after passing of a wave the masses should remain undisturbed. The change in distance between them would, it seems to me (possibly I am naive, because all these experts seem to think they can detect gravitational waves), only change in reference to some non-local coordinate system. The local proper distance should be invariant. A meter stick is still a meter stick, no matter where one places it in a gravitational field.
If we had some way of maintaining the ends of an interferometer fixed in coordinate space, we might detect gravitational waves. The only ways I can think of for doing that are not fast enough to remain coordinate invariant as a wave passes.
Maybe, we need change our piont of view about this problem. Maybe, this is a new line for it. Please see: Graviton-photon interaction in the gravitational redshift
Zhu, I downloaded your very interesting paper. But how exactly do you suggest this is related to the problem of detecting gravitational waves? Should we be looking for them to produce transient fluctuations in the trajectory of a light beam? Actually, this makes more sense to me than the interferometer approach, since light bending has definitely been observed, but variations in an interferometer have not.
I think the key to either one is that part of the apparatus (or beam trajectory) must extend outside the area affected by the gravitational wave in order for us to notice the effect. The device might have to be many light years in size to meet this criteria.
Separately I have some comments on your approach, and feedback for your future work. You have essentially done a QM version of an approach I analyzed classically in papers in 2011 and 2013, and there is a difficulty with an assymmetric effect by gravity on light. It is far from the topic of this thread, and I suggest we open another thread or communicate in private.
I agree with you that the interference experiments might be not the best candidate for detecting the gravitational waves. The interaction of photons with gravity (gravitons) and electrons can be a better candidate for that. Actually Pound–Rebka experiment can be developed to a better extent by taking into account the interaction of the gravitons with the electronic energy levels of the atoms themselves.
I agree with you Robert when you said that there is a possibility of constancy of speed of light within different gravitational potentials and that the change in wavelength may be the cause of red shift. Unfortunately, in spite of this possibility (which I believe in its strengthened bases), the scientific community refuses any theory that is based on this assumption.
There is another very simple solution. Gravitation is an action at a distance. From this point of view, gravitational waves (gravitons) do not exist in Nature.
Laser interferometers, LIGOs, as well as resonant bar detectors are currently operational to detect gravitational waves (GWs). Another interesting method is that of pulsar timing. Since, the time period between successive pulses of a pulsar is a constant up to l in 10^{15}, pulsars are the best clocks of Nature. So, if GWs (basically changing space-time metric) pass between a pulsar and Earth, the arrival times of pulses from the rotating neutron star will change. Pulsar timing is very effective for stochastic GWs detection.
I read the papers linked in the various posts above with interest, especially the Hilbert vs. Schwarzschild discussion. But did not see anything about gravitational waves.
Stephen, looks like you have found a worthy cause there to sink your teeth into. When you finish cleaning up the police in Western Australia, we have a large problem here in the U.S. waiting for your expertise.
I'm sorry, Manuel, but I have not yet mastered QM, and therefore I cannot evaluate the type of revisionist theory you present. I also do not think it is necessary for most relativistic questions, such as gravitational waves. In a sense, these are classical questions.
According PQG, on the Big Bang time-line, gravitons and gravitational waves cannot exist till the stars are formed. But the gravitational force did exist at the Planck time. So even if waves like gravitational waves are detected, they may have nothing to do with the gravitational force of attraction.
Alternate explanation for orbital period decay of the binary pulsar can be given as due to the change in phase of the constituent particles of the binary pulsar. This can result in weakening of the atomic and molecular bonds and eventually lead to disintegration of the pulsar. Change in phase would increase the energy level of the constituent particles of the binary pulsar. Hence binary pulsar may not radiate any gravitational waves. Orbital period decay of binary pulsar is related to the decay of the period of the phase of the constituent particles of the pulsar. This is consistent with the theory of periodic relativity.
In PQG, gravitational attraction is due to natural tendency of various forms of energies to unite and acquire ground state with zero mass gap. This is one step beyond the zero point energy of vaccum fluctuations which has a non-zero mass gap. This zero mass gap ground state is realized when individual particle energy exceeds planck energy level.
Manuel, that's not exactly what I'm talking about. I have a firm grasp of the philosophical and experimental basis of QM, and a one semester introductory course level mastery of the details. What you present is missing in the careful experimental development, so I cannot evaluate that. And as far as taking it as a theoretical physics postulate-basis approach, that requires more experience to evaluate whether it really is a suitable basis for the explanation of all the things that QM can explain, spin, QED, QCD, etc. Please direct your comments at someone who wishes to respond to them. I am saying that I do not. It is not my specialty or interest at this time.
I believe that interferometer based gravitational wave detectors (i.e. LIGO, GEO600, VIRGO) are fundamentally flawed and will never detect gravitational waves. My reasoning is that the speed of light varies with the stretching and compressing of space. This will result in the two returning light beams always being in phase. A more detailed explanation of this is available on my website (which includes supporting computer simulations).
This has motivated me to create an alternate design of a ‘Time Variance – Gravitational Wave Detector’. It is based on the principle that a passing GW will cause fluctuations in the rate of flow of time.
I’m not really sure what you mean by “selection variables’, but here goes. The variable that is being measured (indirectly) is the change in the rate-of-flow-of-time (or change in time dilation), which affects the wavelength of the laser light. As a gravitational wave hits the surface of the earth, the rate-of-flow-of-time may increase momentarily. This will cause the frequency of the laser light to increase as well, thereby decreasing its wavelength. Photo sensors capture the changes in the laser’s diffraction pattern as it travels through a multi-slit device. The rate at which the laser’s wavelength fluctuates matches the frequency of the gravitational wave.