Study Projects Thousands of Strongly Lensed Gravitational Waves Detectable by Future Space Observatories
Researchers have developed a framework to predict how many gravitational waves will be gravitationally lensed—bent by massive galaxies and clusters—when detected by future space-based observatories like LISA and DECIGO. The study estimates LISA could detect 0-131 lensed events over four years, while DECIGO could detect 0-44 in one year, with lensing probabilities reaching up to 0.3%. This matters because overlapping lensed signals could complicate analysis and require new methods to identify and measure these events accurately.
A new study published on arXiv presents comprehensive simulations of strongly lensed gravitational waves expected to be detected by future space-borne gravitational-wave observatories, particularly LISA and DECIGO. The researchers constructed mock catalogs based on realistic astrophysical models of gravitational-wave sources and the distribution of massive lensing structures in the universe. Their projections indicate that LISA observations over four years could yield between 0 and 131 lensed gravitational-wave events depending on the formation model of massive black hole binaries, with lensing probabilities reaching approximately 0.3%. For DECIGO, a one-year observation period could produce 0-44 lensed events from stellar-mass binary black holes, binary neutron stars, and neutron star-black hole binaries, with lensing probabilities around 0.15%. A key finding is that signal overlap—where multiple lensed signals arrive simultaneously—is expected to be common in space-borne detectors, which could significantly impact signal-to-noise ratio estimation and event identification.
What's missing
The study does not discuss potential observational strategies or analysis methods to mitigate the effects of signal overlap, nor does it address how current ground-based detectors (LIGO, Virgo) compare in their expected lensed event rates.
What different sources said
- arXiv astro-phCenter
Detectability to extreme mass ratio inspirals with alternative space-based detector networks
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