skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Proposal for a geophysical search for dilatonic waves

Journal Article · · Physical Review. D, Particles Fields
 [1]
  1. Space Geodesy Laboratory, Department of Civil Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan 300 (China)

We propose a new method of searching for the composition-dependent dilatonic waves, predicted by unified theories of strings. In this method, Earth's surface-gravity changes due to translational motions of its inner core, excited by dilatonic waves, are searched for by using superconducting gravimeters. This method has its best sensitivity at the frequency of {approx}7x10{sup -5} Hz, which is lower than the sensitive frequencies of previous proposals using gravitational wave detectors: {approx}10 to 1000 Hz. Using available results of surface-gravity measurements with superconducting gravimeters and assuming a simple Earth model, we present preliminary upper limits on the energy density of a stochastic background of massless dilatons at the low frequency. Though the results are currently limited by the uncertainty in the Earth model, this method has a potential of detecting dilatonic waves in a new window.

OSTI ID:
21250441
Journal Information:
Physical Review. D, Particles Fields, Vol. 78, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.78.042001; (c) 2008 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0556-2821
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English