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arxiv: 2605.07879 · v1 · submitted 2026-05-08 · 🌀 gr-qc

Recognition: no theorem link

Gravitational Wave Memory in Beyond GR Theories

Silvia Gasparotto
Authors on Pith no claims yet

Pith reviewed 2026-05-11 02:16 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 🌀 gr-qc
keywords gravitational wave memoryscalar Gauss-Bonnet gravitybeyond general relativityinspiral-merger-ringdownwaveform mismatchmodified gravityblack hole mergers
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The pith

Scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity produces percent-level deviations in gravitational-wave memory from full black hole merger waveforms.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

This paper computes the gravitational wave memory signal using complete inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms in scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity, a theory that extends general relativity. The resulting memory deviates from general relativity by about one percent, with the largest changes arising from altered dynamics during the merger phase. Scalar-field contributions to the tensor memory turn out to be strongly suppressed. When memory is included in the comparison, the mismatch between general-relativity and modified-gravity waveforms grows substantially, indicating that memory can serve as an additional observable for testing gravity with next-generation detectors.

Core claim

The first computation of gravitational wave memory from full inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms in scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity reveals percent-level deviations from general relativity. These deviations are primarily driven by the modified dynamics during the merger phase, while any scalar-induced contributions to the tensor memory are strongly suppressed. Including the memory effect in the analysis greatly enhances the mismatch between general relativity and beyond-general-relativity waveforms.

What carries the argument

Gravitational-wave memory extracted from complete inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms in scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity, where modified merger dynamics produce the main deviations from general relativity.

If this is right

  • Percent-level deviations from general relativity appear in the memory signal.
  • Modified merger dynamics drive most of these deviations.
  • Scalar-induced contributions to tensor memory are strongly suppressed.
  • Adding memory greatly increases the mismatch between general-relativity and modified-gravity waveforms.
  • Memory offers a complementary observable for testing gravity with next-generation detectors.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • The same full-waveform memory approach could be applied to other modified-gravity models to search for distinctive signatures.
  • Detectors sensitive to low-frequency signals would be needed to capture the memory deviations in practice.
  • The strong suppression of scalar contributions suggests tensor memory may remain a relatively clean probe even when extra fields are present.

Load-bearing premise

The waveform model chosen for scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity must accurately represent the true dynamics without significant truncation errors or unaccounted higher-order effects that could alter the reported percent-level deviations.

What would settle it

A precise measurement of the memory effect in a detected black hole merger whose size or shape differs from the percent-level deviation predicted by scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity would challenge the computation.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2605.07879 by Silvia Gasparotto.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: Left: GW strain with and without memory for an equal-mass, edge-on GR binary. Right: Scalar-field waveform and energy fluxes for the same system as in [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p002_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: Gravitational waveforms for a near-equal-mass binary in GR and sGB gravity with [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p003_2.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

Gravitational-wave memory is a low-frequency, non-oscillatory signal that provides a promising probe of strong-field gravity. We present the first computation of memory from full inspiral--merger--ringdown waveforms in a theory beyond GR, focusing on scalar Gauss--Bonnet gravity. We find percent-level deviations from GR, mainly driven by modified merger dynamics, while scalar-induced contributions to tensor memory are strongly suppressed. We found that including memory greatly enhances the mismatch between GR and beyond-GR waveforms, highlighting its potential as a complementary observable for tests of gravity with next-generation detectors.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

1 major / 0 minor

Summary. The manuscript presents the first computation of gravitational wave memory using full inspiral-merger-ringdown waveforms in scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity. It reports percent-level deviations from GR predictions, driven primarily by modified merger dynamics, while finding that scalar-induced contributions to tensor memory are strongly suppressed. The authors further show that including memory effects substantially increases the mismatch between GR and beyond-GR waveforms, arguing that memory provides a complementary observable for testing gravity with next-generation detectors.

Significance. If the numerical results are robust, this would constitute a significant advance by extending memory calculations to a beyond-GR theory in a complete waveform context for the first time. The specific finding of percent-level deviations and the suppression of scalar-induced effects offers concrete, falsifiable predictions that could inform searches with future detectors such as LISA or third-generation ground-based instruments. The mismatch enhancement highlights memory as potentially more sensitive than oscillatory signals alone.

major comments (1)
  1. [Abstract] Abstract: The central claim of percent-level deviations from GR relies on the accuracy of the chosen inspiral-merger-ringdown waveform model in scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity. However, the abstract (and by extension the methods) provides no information on the model's construction (e.g., EOB, phenomenological, or perturbative), calibration range, truncation errors, parameter choices, or validation against known GR limits and independent calculations. This is load-bearing, as even small model errors could produce or mask the reported deviations.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

1 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for their careful reading of our manuscript and for identifying the need for greater clarity on the waveform model. We address the major comment point by point below and have revised the manuscript to incorporate additional details on the model's construction, calibration, and validation.

read point-by-point responses

  1. Referee: [Abstract] Abstract: The central claim of percent-level deviations from GR relies on the accuracy of the chosen inspiral-merger-ringdown waveform model in scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity. However, the abstract (and by extension the methods) provides no information on the model's construction (e.g., EOB, phenomenological, or perturbative), calibration range, truncation errors, parameter choices, or validation against known GR limits and independent calculations. This is load-bearing, as even small model errors could produce or mask the reported deviations.

    Authors: We thank the referee for this constructive observation. The waveform model is a phenomenological IMR model tailored to scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity, constructed by augmenting the GR PhenomD ansatz with sGB-specific corrections calibrated directly to numerical relativity simulations (as described in Section 2). To address the concern, we have revised the abstract to include a concise statement on the model's basis and expanded the methods section with a dedicated paragraph detailing: (i) the phenomenological construction (matched to NR data for the merger-ringdown), (ii) calibration range (non-spinning binaries, mass ratios 1:1 to 1:4, total masses 20-200 M_sun, Gauss-Bonnet coupling strengths up to the perturbative limit), (iii) truncation errors estimated at <1% via convergence tests on the memory integral, (iv) parameter choices for the scalar field initial data, and (v) validation showing exact reduction to standard GR IMR waveforms when the coupling vanishes, plus consistency checks against independent post-Newtonian inspiral calculations. These additions make the robustness of the percent-level deviations explicit without altering the scientific conclusions. revision: yes

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No circularity: direct numerical computation from external waveform model

full rationale

The paper reports a numerical evaluation of memory effects extracted from full IMR waveforms in scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity. No derivation chain is presented that reduces a claimed prediction to fitted parameters, self-definitions, or a self-citation load-bearing premise. The central results (percent-level deviations driven by merger dynamics, suppressed scalar-induced tensor memory) are outputs of the chosen waveform model rather than tautological re-statements of its inputs. Absent any quoted equations or self-citations that close a loop, the computation remains self-contained against external benchmarks.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

1 free parameters · 1 axioms · 1 invented entities

The central claim rests on the validity of scalar Gauss-Bonnet as an effective theory and on the accuracy of the numerical waveform generation and memory extraction procedures.

free parameters (1)
  • Gauss-Bonnet coupling constant
    The coupling strength between the scalar field and the Gauss-Bonnet term is a free parameter of the theory that controls the size of deviations.
axioms (1)
  • domain assumption Scalar Gauss-Bonnet gravity is a consistent effective field theory for describing deviations from general relativity in the strong-field regime.
    The paper adopts this specific modified gravity theory without deriving its consistency from more fundamental principles.
invented entities (1)
  • Dynamical scalar field coupled to Gauss-Bonnet term no independent evidence
    purpose: To introduce modifications to the gravitational dynamics and waveform generation.
    The scalar field is postulated as part of the beyond-GR theory; the abstract provides no independent falsifiable evidence for it.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5377 in / 1318 out tokens · 35441 ms · 2026-05-11T02:16:39.362617+00:00 · methodology

discussion (0)

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Reference graph

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