Constraining the gravitational-wave breathing mode with LVK antenna patterns and GWTC data
Abstract
Metric theories of gravity admit a massless breathing scalar b besides the tensor modes + and ×. Many scalar--tensor models predict a much smaller breathing amplitude; gravitational quantum field theory (GQFT) instead allows hb comparable to the tensor amplitudes. We evaluate the LIGO--Virgo--KAGRA (LVK) antenna patterns with PyCBC, including Michelson suppression of b. Here Fb is the breathing antenna pattern and 𝒮b=∑d Fbd2 is the network breathing power. At the H1 zenith at the GW150914 epoch, Fb∼ 5× 10−6; for $72$ Gravitational-wave Transient Catalog (GWTC) events with packaged strain the median inclination gain in 𝒮b is ∼ 34×. Ranking multi-detector GWTC events (network SNR≥ 8, ≥ 2 sites) by SNR√(𝒮b*) identifies loud O4 triggers and GW170817 as geometric targets. Parameter-estimation (PE) weighted 𝒮b on twelve events shows that the true sky can suppress this ranking (GW170817) and that GW200129_065458, GW150914, and GW190814 have the highest PE-weighted 𝒮b for ξ in hb=ξh+ (GR: ξ≡ 0). An HLV design-noise injection grid gives ln B(GR+b/GR)≈ 13 ($4$) for ξ=1 ($0.5$) on an inclined sky (𝒮b∼ 0.18); near zenith (𝒮b∼ 0.016) the ξ posterior remains unconstrained. The GWTC limits are semi-joint: masses and spins fixed at PE medians, while dL, θJN, sky, and ξ vary within PE-informed priors. Eleven of twelve events are analyzed (GW170817 omitted: PE sky on the breathing null). None favors GR+b; |ξ|90%≈ 0.15, $0.18$, and $0.23$ for GW150914, GW200129_065458, and GW200311_115853 disfavor |ξ|∼𝒪(1), while weaker bounds (including GW190814) still allow that scale.
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BibTeX
@misc{jin2026constraining,
title = {{Constraining the gravitational-wave breathing mode with LVK antenna patterns and GWTC data}},
author = {Hong-Bo Jin and Yanyan Zheng},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.08588},
eprint = {2610.08588},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.08588},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Constraining the gravitational-wave breathing mode with LVK antenna patterns and GWTC data
AU - Hong-Bo Jin
AU - Yanyan Zheng
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/06
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.08588
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.08588
AB - Metric theories of gravity admit a massless breathing scalar b besides the tensor modes + and ×. Many scalar--tensor models predict a much smaller breathing amplitude; gravitational quantum field theory (GQFT) instead allows h_b comparable to the tensor amplitudes. We evaluate the LIGO--Virgo--KAGRA (LVK) antenna patterns with PyCBC, including Michelson suppression of b. Here F_b is the breathing antenna pattern and 𝒮_b=∑_d F_b^d2 is the network breathing power. At the H1 zenith at the GW150914 epoch, F_b∼ 5× 10^−6; for $72$ Gravitational-wave Transient Catalog (GWTC) events with packaged strain the median inclination gain in 𝒮_b is ∼ 34×. Ranking multi-detector GWTC events (network SNR≥ 8, ≥ 2 sites) by SNR√(𝒮_b^*) identifies loud O4 triggers and GW170817 as geometric targets. Parameter-estimation (PE) weighted 𝒮_b on twelve events shows that the true sky can suppress this ranking (GW170817) and that GW200129_065458, GW150914, and GW190814 have the highest PE-weighted 𝒮_b for ξ in h_b=ξh_+ (GR: ξ≡ 0). An HLV design-noise injection grid gives ln B(GR+b/GR)≈ 13 ($4$) for ξ=1 ($0.5$) on an inclined sky (𝒮_b∼ 0.18); near zenith (𝒮_b∼ 0.016) the ξ posterior remains unconstrained. The GWTC limits are semi-joint: masses and spins fixed at PE medians, while d_L, θ_JN, sky, and ξ vary within PE-informed priors. Eleven of twelve events are analyzed (GW170817 omitted: PE sky on the breathing null). None favors GR+b; |ξ|_90%≈ 0.15, $0.18$, and $0.23$ for GW150914, GW200129_065458, and GW200311_115853 disfavor |ξ|∼𝒪(1), while weaker bounds (including GW190814) still allow that scale.
ER -