Gravitational wave interactions with magnetized plasmas

Abstract

Gravitational waves (GWs) propagating through a uniformly magnetized plasma interact directly with the magnetic field and excite magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves with both electromagnetic and matter components. We study this process for arbitrary geometry in the MHD approximation and find that all three fundamental MHD modes -- slow and fast magnetosonic, and Alfven -- are excited depending on both the polarization of the GW and the orientation of the ambient magnetic field. The latter two modes can interact coherently with the GW resulting in damping of the GW and linear growth of the plasma waves.