Constrain the time variation of the gravitational constant via the propagation of gravitational waves

Abstract

The gravitational constant variation means the breakdown of the strong equivalence principle. As the cornerstone of general relativity, the validity of general relativity can be examined by studying the gravitational constant variation. Such variations have the potential to affect both the generation and propagation of gravitational waves. Here, our focus lies on the effect of gravitational constant variation specifically on the propagation of gravitational waves. In a previous paper (An et al., 2023 [13]) we have studied such effect based on a Maxwell-like equation. That work admits two drawbacks. The assumption that describing gravitational waves with Maxwell-like equation is not solid. And more such treatment can only deal with space dependent gravitational constant. In the current paper we will remedy these two issues. We employ two analytical methods, namely based on the Fierz-Pauli action and the perturbation of Einstein-Hilbert action around Minkowski spacetime, both leading to the same gravitational wave equation. By solving this equation, we find the effects of gravitational constant variation on gravitational wave propagation. The result is consistent with previous investigations based on Maxwell-like equations for gravitational waves for space dependent gravitational constant cases. In addition we can constrain the time variation of the gravitational constant via the propagation of gravitational waves based on GW170817 data. And more, we find that small variations in the gravitational constant result in an amplitude correction at the leading order and a phase correction at the sub-leading order for gravitational waves. These results provide valuable insights for probing gravitational constant variation and can be directly applied to gravitational wave data analysis.