A new study published on arXiv theorizes that gravitational waves from black holes could propagate through space in the form of “gravitational lasers.”
Einstein first proposed gravitational waves in 1916 and the idea of stimulated emission of radiation which is the basis of lasers in 1917.
The study suggests gravitational waves could mimic lasers if conditions around a black hole were right.
It involves hypothetical particles called axions which may help explain dark matter and have properties that allow interaction with black holes.
Axions could form “boson clouds” around rotating black holes known as Kerr black holes.
This interaction, called superradiance, could allow coordinated wave emissions that behave like a laser sending beams of “gravitational lasers.”
Black holes would emit these gravitational laser beams randomly, making them hard to detect but space-based detectors like LISA may find them.
If confirmed, it would show another instance of Einstein’s theories connecting gravitational waves and radiation 100 years later.
Source: popularmechanics
